Snapshots
by Ministryofchaos
Summary: Follow on of "The Next Mile". Life is like a camera; just focus on what's important and capture the good times, develop from the negatives and if things don't work out, just take another shot... at least thats how Aaron, Jackson & their 17 year old son see it.
1. Chapter 1

**Well here's the beginning of my fic set in the future of my Next Mile universe as promised. This fic will be multi-chaptered but not half as long as my other story; probably no more than 10 chapters. Focuses in on a year in the life of the Walsh family, containing both highs and lows. Hope you like! **

_February_

A recently turned forty year old Aaron Walsh slumped down on the bench which had stood in the middle of Emmerdale village for as long as he could remember. It had well-changed over the course of decades; paint chipping off, moss creeping across its' planks and the framework fast becoming rickety.

Aaron was feeling rather like the bench himself now that he found himself a decade older. While he knew forty still wasn't old and that he was still a long way from the grave yet he couldn't help but grimace as he found his first few strands of grey hair starting to shoot up on random parts of his scalp recently. Jackson, as sympathetic as always, had found it hilarious that Aaron was going grey before him; despite Jay being two years older the fact that Aaron was cursed with having pitch-black hair meant it was inevitable that his colour would start to go before his partners.

Aaron rested his eyes as he felt the light of the afternoon sun hit his face, taking in what little heat it offered at this early stage of spring. He had spent a long day at work and because his car was getting serviced he had to rely on the bus all that week. Now after all that fuss hopping from one place to the next he was enjoying the peace and quiet of this brief sit-down.

His ears pricked as he heard the sound of something approaching him from behind. It seemed to be coming closer and closer to him at a careful pace, as though not wanting to be noticed.

Aaron waited until he could sense the figure right behind him and heard it draw a breath. Without opening his eyes he grunted

"Don't even think about it."

He smirked triumphantly as he heard an annoyed exhale of breath at his ear and opened his eyes to see the defeated figure come around to his side of the bench. The figure was a young man with light-brown hair capped with a grey beanie, a quite handsome chiselled face and a set of soulful creamy-brown eyes. As he came to a halt he shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets and his mouth twisted into a pout

"How'd you know it was me?" the teenager huffed, disappointed that his plan to startle Aaron hadn't worked.

"I'm your father, I know everything." Aaron replied simply with a smirk. "What have you been up to?"

Sixteen going on seventeen year old Kalum Walsh raised an amused eyebrow "So much for knowing everything!"

"Now, now!" Aaron tutted "You're not too old for a clip around the ear for cheekiness, you know."

"When have you ever clipped me around the ear?" Kalum snorted

"There's a first time for everything, my lad." Aaron smiled. Kalum just rolled his eyes dramatically; he knew his dad was only messing with him.

If Aaron did say so himself he and Jackson's son had turned out quite well in the looks department. He had grown from a cute and cuddly little boy to a rather handsome young man, "lush" as some of the youngsters would say. Aaron noticed with a flicker of envy that while his hair colour was starting to gradually fade Kay's had darkened slightly from sandy to a lightish brown. Despite having the appetite of a horse Kalum remained quite skinny but not scrawny; his weekly basketball training helped keep him in tone. Aaron also suspected that Kay had recently found some old weights belonging to Jay and had put them to use as he'd noticed one morning with some amusement his son being unable to raise his arms without wincing in pain.

It was also with some sadness that he noticed that had Kay been able to stand he would be fairly tall, maybe just a few centimetres shorter than himself. It had been a relief for both Aaron and Jackson that their boy had never experienced any serious forms of bullying due to his disability, or for the fact that he was being raised by two men. If his disability hindered or frustrated Kay himself in any way he didn't let on.

"When's da coming home?"

Aaron glanced at his watch "Shouldn't be too long now, why?"

"I need to ask him for a lift up to Joe's later; we have to finish that stupid biology field study." Kalum pulled a face.

Aaron grinned "Thought you liked biology?"

"Learning how to dissect a worm isn't exactly riveting stuff, dad." Kalum snorted

Aaron nodded "Point taken. Anyway, is it just you heading up? I thought the others were involved in this as well?"

"Thomas is heading there after football. As for Ryan…"

Kay was unexpectedly cut off as he heard the click of the brakes being taken off the wheels of his chair and then to his surprise felt himself being forcefully shoved forward. Much to Aaron's own surprise he found himself now looking at a beaming scruffy seventeen year old with untidy dark brown bangs of hair, a medium stature, dressed in torn jeans and a dark shirt with a checked jacket and his lightly stubbled face flickering with mischief.

"Thought I felt my ears burning." He smiled brightly before winking at a bemused Aaron "I must say, you're looking quite fine today Uncle Aaron. If the door swung in that direction I'd be quite tempted!"

Aaron rolled his eyes "Good afternoon to you too, Ryan."

By this time Kalum had re-joined them "Not one for making a big entrance are you, Caulfield?" he huffed sarcastically.

"You love the attention." Ryan replied smartly, shoving his grubby hands into his pockets and tossing a bang out of his eyes.

It was amusing to see how little the young livewire had changed over the course of ten years. He was an absolute rocket; losing none of his ruthlessness, cheekiness or daredevil ways as he matured. But he was also charismatic and more of a lovable rogue than a troublemaker. Jackson once coined him as a mixture of Oliver Reed, Liam Gallagher and Peter Pan, a comparison which suited him greatly and one which he tried his hardest to live up to.

"What brings you around these parts, scruffbag?" Aaron grunted.

Ryan feigned a wounded look "Didn't realise I needed an excuse to visit my favourite family in Emmerdale."

"I must say, young Caulfield, the smell of manure off your breath is appalling!"

Ryan chuckled before admitting "Mum and Adams' up at the farm; they're taking Tyler to see his grandad Barton, do his head in for a change!"

Aaron and Kalum smirked; both knew Ryan was fonder of his little brother than he let on, even if it did appeal to his six year old amusement to do his older brothers' head in from time to time.

"So anyways, John says if I'm bored I could wander around the farm and get some chores done for him. But that's no fun on my own."

At this he directed his gaze to Kalum who scoffed in realisation "Are you serious? You want me to do chores with you?"

"I promise I'll try to make them fun!"

Aaron furrowed his brow "I'm hoping you mean that in a strictly non-life-threatening way?"

"Of course!"

"Fine." Kalum gave in before turning to Aaron "That ok with you, dad?"

"As long as you come home in one piece."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"So what's the plan, Kay?"

"What plan?"

The boys were making their way through the gate of John Bartons' farm, Kays' beloved collie Koda trotting along with them.

"For your birthday. It's next month isn't it?"

"Yeah but I don't think I'll do anything for it. Seventeens' hardly a milestone, is it?"

"Bull." Ryan snorted "You gotta do something to mark the occasion, even just go out for a few with me and the lads."

Kalum shrugged "I'll think about it. On another subject, are you lot still coming to my game on Saturday?"

"Said we were, didn't we. Hope you don't mind, but Cassie's keen to go as well."

"No problem." It pleased Kay whenever his friends offered to watch him play a match, especially as all of them except for Ryan played a sport of their own. Thomas of course was a keen footballer and spent most nights training with his local club and Joseph shocked nobody by joining a rugby club and was a decent player but he amazed everybody by showing an interest in boxing at a young age. He now participated in both sports and while he enjoyed playing rugby boxing was his main passion.

Kay was worried for a while that they'd see his sport as mediocre compared to theirs because it involved a wheelchair, but thankfully this didn't seem to be the case.

Ryan on the other hand had no interest or time for sports. It just wasn't his scene, nor did it give him the adrenaline rush he longed for when it came to making his own fun.

Like now. Kay noticed they had come to a stop beside the barn, where an old quad-bike stood. Ryan had that look on his face which always appeared when he had an idea.

"You have to be joking…"

"Look, John got some lambs a month or so ago and a couple have gone walk-about over the fields so he wants me to go look for them. Fastest way to do that is by bike."

With that he hopped unto the quad and turning the keys revved it up with a smile. He threw a questioning look at Kay who snorted "You're mad!"

"You're just jealous because you won't be the fastest thing on wheels around here anymore." He chuckled "C'mon Kay, I promise I'll get you home in one piece. Haven't you ever wanted to take a spin on a Harley Davidson?"

"You call _that_ a Harley Davidson? God, Caulfield you might want to invest in a pair of glasses!" But still he gave in and allowed his eccentric friend to give him a lift onto the back of the quad.

He laughed at the seemingly disapproving gaze Koda was staring at him with. "It's alright, boy. I know what I'm at."

He took the spare helmet offered to him by Ryan who once again began revving the engine, causing the bike to roar. As Kay held on to the handles on the sides he called out over the engine rumbles "Hey Ryan? You ever driven this thing before?"

"Nope!" Ryan replied cheerfully.

Kalums' eyes widened "Okay….what happens if the brakes fail when we're driving?"

As the bike started moving forward at a standard enough speed Ryan shot back casually over his shoulder "You stick your head between your knees and kiss your arse goodbye."

Before Kay could reply the bike had made its way out of the farm gate and with a mighty lurch upped a gear and sped off into the fields. Kay watched with a mixture of both excitement and fear as the speedometer went up through double digits and the greenery of the Yorkshire countryside went by in a blur, Koda barely keeping up with them as he attempted to race alongside them.

As Kalums' heart rate increased he yelled over the noise "We're doing flaming ninety at least!"

"I know!" Ryan yelled back gleefully "Doesn't it feel bloody fantastic?"

Kay had to admit, once he got over the underlying fear that the pair of them were going to find themselves wrapped around a tree any minute now, the sense of thrill and adrenaline rush it was giving him did feel out of this world. It was like the feeling he got playing sport. It made him feel invincible. It made him feel alive.

But it was probably something his parents didn't need to know about.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Aaron finished tidying up the living room and proceeded into Kay's room. It wasn't that he was a clean-freak particularly, certainly not, but a house with three males living in it did need the odd clean every now and again.

As he stripped the linen of Kalums' bed he let his eyes wander around the room. It had changed quite a bit in the past ten years; a new bed, a few fresh licks of paint. The various objects in the room demonstrated the passing of time; toys replaced by a laptop, music speakers, a desk, a medium pool table and basketballs everywhere. Much to Aarons' amusement he also spotted the arm weights thrown carelessly under the bed. Posters of various sport players donned the walls, as did shelves containing both books and several awards for both sport and academic reasons.

Aaron smiled as he caught sight of his sons' locker, on which stood a photo of Kays' mum for as long as he could remember but also joining it now was photos of his teenage son with his friends, his team mates, and of course with his adoptive parents.

Aaron could also see in the corner of the room an empty cage with an old teddy bear on top. The cage had once held Kalums pet rabbit, who sadly went to the big rabbit hutch in the sky some years beforehand. Even now Aaron shuddered at the memory of nine year old Kalums' devastation, refusing to get rid of the cage and requesting a proper burial in the back garden. Aaron at the time couldn't even bring himself to joke about the possibility of Lisa having something for the pot, much as he wanted to.

While other childhood toys had been either stored in the attic, thrown out or donated there was one teddy which Kay could not and would not get rid of and that was the one his mother had given him all those years ago. Torn, raggy and dirtied as it was it took pride of the place on top of the cage, no longer used but still loved.

Aaron took a bit of time to look at the various awards and certificates decorating the shelves. Their boy had won several medals and trophies with his team for wheelchair basketball and had also been awarded for various academic reasons such as attendance and excellence in particular subjects.

Aaron grinned; Kay certainly wasn't like him when it came to school. For one thing he actually didn't mind going to it and for another he was for the most part a good student. While like all other teenagers there were days he faked illness or didn't study for a test or "forgot" his homework, the majority of the time he did try hard and while not failing any subjects he particularly excelled in ones such as art, maths and languages.

His father noticed that among the books stacked on the bookshelves there were several small, black sketch books wedged in places. Although he itched to have a peek at his sons art work Aaron knew better than to pry through Kay's personal belongings. If he wanted Aaron to see his drawings, he would have shown him himself.

In short he had done very well to make his parents proud of him. In saying that, both Aaron and Jackson would have been proud of him no matter what. While like all lads his age he would experience mood swings on and off and strove to be independent as much as possible he was a good kid and maintained a close, solid relationship with his fathers. Despite being busy nowadays between school, his friends and basketball practice he still managed to fit in time to do things with his family.

As Aaron left the room he heard the front door shut and his face brightened as he heard the sound of footsteps he would recognise anywhere.

His partner of nearly twenty-two years tossed his toolbox and hard hat into the corner of the living room and stretched nosily. It had been a long day. He smiled however as he caught sight of his husband standing with a load of laundry in his arms "Hey, gorgeous."

"Hey." Aaron grinned back as Jay crossed the room for a kiss. He eyed the bits of linen in Aarons' arms "'All that belong to his lordship? I thought he did his own laundry as part of his chores?"

"He does." Aaron rolled his eyes "But do you not remember me losing a bet with him last week on the Xbox?"

Jackson raised an eyebrow "And this was the forfeit?"

"Yup, laundry for a week."

Jackson shook his head "Kids, eh?"

"You said it." Aaron chuckled. He couldn't help but notice that Jay was in need of a bit of a clean himself; cement and muck and grime clinging to parts of his work-clothes and hands. Despite his promotion ten years earlier leading him to spend more time in the offices in amongst the paperwork and blueprints he still insisted on being involved in the hands-on work. Some things never change.

"Where is Kay anyway?"

"Up at Bartons' with Ryan, helping out with some farm chores if you can believe that. He also needs a lift up to the Conlons' in a while to work on something for school. Which means…" Aaron smirked suggestively "...I get his father to myself for a few hours."

Jackson looked immensely pleased by this but as his husband went to pull him into a kiss he drew back slightly "I'm all covered with grease and grime, babe. I don't want to get you all dirty."

This remark only entertained Aaron further "Keep talking." He purred smoothly.

Jackson caught on to what he meant and played along innocently "Oh you know, I just wouldn't like the thought of getting greasy marks all over your nice, clean body. Be a shame to see all that lovely white skin all destroyed with smudges, streaks and fingerprints covering every inch of it. T'would be a disaster, really."

He could see that his words were having the desired effect on his partner who came closer once more "I think I'll live." He muttered before crashing his mouth against his partners, winding his arms around his neck and letting the fingers of one hand clasp the hairs on the nape of Jays' neck. Jackson responded in kind, kissing back hungrily and wrapping his arms tightly around his husbands waist.

The whole idea of marriage supposedly diminishing the passion between a couple as the years went on was total bull in their opinion. Well, from where they were concerned anyway. Their love and lust for each other was similar to a good wine – it only got better with each year that passed.

Heaven only knows where things would have ended up had they not been interrupted by a cough behind them "And I thought helping to scoop up lamb crap was nauseating!"

They sprang apart and looked to see a bemused Kalum in the kitchen doorway. Stepping away from Jackson with his face starting to redden Aaron began awkwardly "We… um… well…you're back early."

"Wasn't as many chores to do as expected, Ryan's just helping John and Adam place some panels on the roof now but he'll be finished soon. Could you give us both a lift up to Joe's in a while please, da?"

"Sure, son." A still-flustered Jay replied.

"Cheers!" Kay said brightly before leaving through the door like nothing had happened.

Once he was sure their son was out of earshot Jackson exclaimed "How long was he in that doorway?"

"Dunno, can't have been too long though because we only walked through it a few minutes ago."

"I mean was he there before or after I stopped speaking? God, what the hell would he have thought?"

Aaron sighed "Well if he did hear you I'm pretty sure he would guess that you were talking about sex."

To the look Jackson gave him he shrugged "Jay, he's nearly seventeen; I'm sure he knows by now what it is!"

"I know that, Captain Obvious; I'm not one of those parents who believes my teenage child is still all innocence and light. The point I'm making is that he might have just heard _us, _his _parents _talking about it!"

Aaron raised an eyebrow "I doubt he heard but I don't think it's a big deal even if he did. You think he thinks we don't have it?"

"No, I just think it might be embarrassing for a teenage lad to walk in on his parents talking about getting it on. I mean imagine your mum and-"

"Alright! Point taken, no need to put images in my head!"

Jackson chuckled as Kay poked his head around the door once more "I just got a text off Ryan, can we pick him up from the Bartons on the way?"

"Yeah, alright." Jackson picked up his keys from the kitchen table "You all set?"

"Yep, just need to grab my jar with the worm in it." He pulled a face before disappearing once again to do just that.

Aaron laughed at the confused expression on his husbands face. "I don't even want to know." Jay shook his head before turning back to Aaron "I'll be back in a bit, in the meantime…" he slyly tapped his surprised husbands nose gently, leaving a dark smudge "… let _that _be the first of many."

Aarons face split into a smile as his partner winked and walked out the door "Kay! Get your backside in gear!"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Kay gently bounced the basketball at his side before moving his chair forward. He'd been playing at this sport so long now he didn't need to think about the steps anymore as they just came to him naturally.

His backyard was hardly appropriate practice ground despite having a basketball hoop installed on the wall. It was too small and the gaps of the paving caused shudders to vibrate through his chair and up his body. It was a nuisance and wasn't helped by the fact that his vision was relying on the dim patio light and he had to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake his parents up. After all, 2 AM was hardly a decent hour to be practicing.

But Kalums overactive mind was preventing him from sleeping. It was just one of those nights where all sorts of irrational thoughts came out to play. He was experiencing a lot of nights like this recently, especially as this year was going to involve him making so many decisions and also so many things were going to be changing.

For example he was now in his final year of school and would be graduating that summer. The upcoming months would involve nothing but talk of A-levels, university placements and career choices, all of which Kay was dreading. He cursed whichever fool made it law that people would have to make such life-changing decisions at such a young age. He had no idea what he wanted to do as his career; he barely knew where to begin when it came to studying for his exams!

While he knew deep down that whatever decision he made didn't necessarily have to stick with him for life it still plagued his mind, hence why he'd taken himself outside to shoot a few hoops, hoping to burn himself out. His upcoming match was also another thing of importance; should Kay perform well in it he would receive the much coveted title of captain. At least this way he was helping get rid of one issue.

He took a shot and scowled as the ball missed the net completely, choosing instead to ricochet off the wall and land rather noisily among bits of scrap metal Jackson had left over from the building site. He hesitated, ears pricked for any sign of movement in the house, before sighing in relief and approaching the ball once more, bending to scoop it up.

As he went to shoot again his heart nearly gave out as he heard a soft voice behind him "Bit late for practice, don't you think?"

Head whipping around Kay saw the figure of his dad at the doorway, dressed in trackies and a hoodie with a concerned look on his face.

Relaxing as he realised he wasn't in trouble Kalum shrugged lamely "Couldn't sleep."

Aaron approached slowly, hands tucked into pockets for warmth. "Any reason why?"

Kalum paused before awkwardly looking away, fingers drumming the hard rubber of the ball on his lap as he tried to think of a reasonable excuse.

"Anything you want to tell your old man about?" Aaron encouraged gently.

Kay managed a small smile and shook his head "Nothing much to tell; my heads' just buzzing with…stuff."

Aaron cocked his head to one side "What kind of stuff?"

"Nothing I can't take on." Kalum replied cheerfully, sounding more confident than he felt.

Aaron knew he wouldn't get any more out of him that night, further pressing would just irritate him. Besides he knew his own son well enough to know that Kay would eventually open up to them about any problems he had sooner or later. Whenever he was ready.

Wordlessly Aaron strolled over to Kalum and much to his sons surprise made a sudden grab for the ball, snatching it right out of his hands.

"Dad, what…?"

Aaron grinned as he dribbled the ball, skirting around his son as he did so "Well come on! If you're going to practice at this ungodly hour you may as well do it right."

Kay chuckled and shook his head, but decided to play along all the same. "You sure you won't hurt yourself, old man?"

"I'd be more worried about hurting your pride, whippersnapper." Aaron chided back, snatching the ball out of the way as his son went to lunge for it. They spent the next few minutes playfully battling each other, Aaron's advantage being his ability to walk and Kays' being his superior excellence at the sport. Kay clearly had the upper hand as less than fifteen minutes later he was wiping the floor with Aaron.

"What was that about hurting my pride, father dearest?" Kalum jested.

"Less of the lip, you, or I might be forced to actually try playing at my best. Wouldn't want to see your poor little face crumple in disappointment, would I?"

"I could bulldoze you in more ways than one if I felt like it." Kalum smirked.

"And I could take the brakes off your chair and stand you on the edge of a nice, steep hill but we both know that's not going to happen either, don't we?"

"S'pose." Kay grinned.

After a few more minutes they called it a night, Kalum the clear winner. Aaron gave him a few minutes to get set for bed before knocking softly on his room door.

Entering he found Kay in bed with his beanie hat off and mousy hair sticking up in places. He grinned as his father entered the room, reminding Aaron so much of the young, giddy, sandy-haired child he had tucked into bed each night all those years ago. Kay was long past the stage of kisses, cuddles and a story at bedtime but in Aaron and Jacksons' eyes he was still their child, still their little boy for as long as he lived.

"You knackered out yet?" he smiled.

Kalum yawned and nodded "Who knew beating an old badger like you would be so tiring?"

"Less of it." Aaron smirked before tossing the ball to Kay, who caught it with ease and placed it beside his bed.

Aaron scratched the back of his head thoughtfully before saying softly "Just take this old badgers advice, mate; try not to worry about the future, it happens soon enough whether we like it or not. Worry doesn't help anything."

Not for the first time Kay wondered if his dad had some form of fathers' intuition. Not sure of how to respond to this he simply nodded "Okay."

Aaron went on with a grin "And hey, you know you're destined for great things, yeah? I know you think I'm spouting a load of bull but seriously you're a talented and intelligent lad. You'll go far. A lad like you has no cause to worry about the future, believe me. What's for you won't pass you."

Kalum gave a shy little grin, pleased at this "Cheers, dad."

Aaron went to leave the room. As he reached the door he turned to face his teenage son a final time "'Night, son."

"'Night, dad."

Once his dad left Kay switched off his bedside lamp and settled back against his pillow, eyes closing as his brain attempted to put his dads' advice into practice.

Being a typical lad he didn't express his love for his adoptive parents verbally as much as he should but he was sure they knew. Likewise they respected his teenage pride by lessening the amount of verbal acknowledgement of their love for him, though not ever leaving him in doubt of their affection.

Despite Kay never admitting it out loud, he found it comforting to know that no matter what changes were to take place in the upcoming months, he could still rely on one thing never changing.

….TBC

**Hope that was a satisfactory introductory chapter, thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for your kind reviews on chapter one and apologies for the wait, I've been awfully busy recently.**

**Would just like to note that I'm not entirely sure of what the legal drinking age in the UK is; it's 18 over here but some websites are telling me in the UK it's 16 and others say it's 18 so I'm a tad confused. As a result I'm just going to play it safe in this chapter. Hope you like!**

**Chapter 2**

_March_

Thomas Brook raised his glass with a grin "Here's to captain Walsh!"

Kalum rolled his eyes as the other boys chorused "Captain Walsh!" and clinked their glasses together.

The lads were seated around a table in the corner of a noisy and dimly lit club celebrating two occasions; both relating to Kay who had successfully gained the title of captain of his basketball team and had also turned seventeen a few days previously. While on his actual birthday he had gone for a meal to celebrate with his parents he had waited until the weekend to celebrate with his friends, which included his usual three best mates and some other school friends, a few of his team mates, his cousin Max and also Leo. Rhona, Marlon and Paddy had been touched by Kay's insistence that Leo join in the celebration, though Kay wouldn't have had it any other way.

Despite being worried at first that the other lads might feel awkward around Leo he found to his relief that he needn't have worried; Leo was perfectly content chatting away to whoever cared to listen. Ryan in particular seemed to enjoy nattering with him and it surprised the other boys to see him reveal his lesser-seen soft side.

On his friends insistence Kay had decided to head out to a club for the occasion. Despite it being difficult to manoeuvre about the place due to it being packed, his inability to dance for obvious reasons and the fact that none of them despite their best efforts were able to purchase alcohol successfully he found himself having a great time.

To his left sat Ryan, who he noticed every so often slyly adding a clear liquid to his coke from a small bottle hidden carefully within his jacket, to his right sat Thomas, who had grown up tall and well-built and wore his brown hair floppy. To Thomas' right sat Joseph, now more commonly known as Joe, who was quite skinny but athletic looking with a strong jaw and cropped strawberry-blond hair. Quite a handsome group of lads.

It was comforting to know that despite making and breaking many friendships over the years Kay had always kept close bonds with the three boys he had known all his academic life, even when Joseph and his family went abroad for a year to Spain. It also helped make the harrowing thoughts of what lay ahead for him just that little bit less scary, knowing that his mates were going to be going through the exact same stress as he was.

He was in the middle of a conversation with Joe when he sensed someone's eyes on him. Looking up he noticed two girls gazing in the direction of his table, as their eyes met one of the girls smiled and the pair of them approached.

All chat between the boys stopped as the two teenage girls came to a halt a few inches away from them. They were both rather pretty, one blond and one brunette, and both emitted cheerfulness and confidence.

"Hey." The blond addressed the table brightly.

"Hi." was the mumbled reply by most at the table.

"Enjoying the night?" while the girl was politely addressing the whole table she kept firm eye contact with Kalum, who could feel his throat starting to constrict. He wasn't used to this sort of attention and words temporarily evaded him.

"Erm… yeah, thanks." He managed to force out while mentally slapping his forehead to try and stop his brain turning to mush.

She didn't seem deterred however "My name's Tori and that's my friend Gemma." Gemma nodded by way of greeting before Tori continued "So…. Do you have a name to match your face?"

Kay blinked "I'm sorry?"

Her smile widened, finding his innocence adorable "I mean you have a nice face; does it have a nice name to go with it?"

If he felt muddled and nervous before it was certainly nothing to how he felt now "Yeah… I mean no…. no I mean it's not that nice…. My name's Kalum." He finished lamely, cheeks feeling like they were on fire. The other boys watched on with mixed feelings of amusement and sympathy.

"Well Kalum, do you fancy a dance?"

While the other boys froze realisation hit Kay like a ton of heavy, bitter bricks. He knew it was too good to be true.

"Sorry, but I can't dance." He replied bluntly.

She chuckled as she misunderstood "All lads say that! Come on, I'll teach you."

Kay shook his head "No, I mean I _really _can't." To make it clearer he made Thomas scoot over a bit and swivelled his chair from side to side.

Tori's heavily made-up cheeks flushed scarlet as she realised her mistake "Oh God, I'm so sorry! I didn't-"

"I know." Kay smiled reassuringly "No worries, easy mistake."

While she was relieved he had not taken offence the atmosphere had turned decidedly more awkward and after a few minutes of brief small talk she bid them farewell "Nice meeting you, Kalum."

"And you." He kept his smile until her and her friend had disappeared from sight before his face slipped and he muttered to his left "Whatever you have in that bottle, pour some into my glass will ya?"

Ryan shuffled in his seat awkwardly before attempting to make light of things "C'mon Kay, you can't honestly have wanted that Crayola-faced tart anyway…"

"What I want is some of whatever you're drinking. Can I please just have a bit?" Kay grunted. He knew he should just look on the bright side; after all it was clear that the girl had been interested in him at first glance, so it wasn't a case of him not looking attractive. But the knowledge that he could've been capable of pulling had he not been in a chair did little to comfort him. He was at the end of the day still an ordinary teenage lad with feelings and hormones, and rejection cut him just as much as any other bloke his age.

Especially rejection over something he could do nothing to change.

Joe tried to reason with Kay "Mate, getting bladdered on whatever crap Ryan has with him isn't going to help…"

"I know, Joe. I'm not getting bladdered, I just want a drop ok?" Kalum kept his voice calm and levelled, revealing nothing of what he really felt.

"Well that's good; this stuff wouldn't get you anywhere near bladdered anyway."

The other boys turned to face a rather sheepish looking Ryan who was fidgeting rather uncomfortably. He reluctantly handed over the bottle to Kay who gingerly raised it to his nose and gave it a sniff. Getting no scent he shrugged and took a small sip of the liquid while the others watched on.

His eyes widened in surprise as he swallowed and blurted "It's flamin' water!"

There was a moment of stunned silence before the rest of the tables occupants burst out laughing while Ryan crossed his arms over his chest with a careless air, though the reddening of his ears beneath his dark bangs gave him away.

"Look at Caulfield playing at being a big man!" Thomas snickered

"You're just jealous you didn't think of it!" Ryan sniffed.

"Aw, do you buy lucozade and pretend it's Jack Daniels too?" Max chided mercilessly

"Get stuffed! It fooled you morons for a while didn't it? Besides…" he smirked "I think it got that Gemma's notice anyway."

It was Kay's turn to chuckle "What?"

He shrugged as though the answer was obvious "Girls like a rebel, mate."

"Oh come off it, Caulfield! The tide wouldn't take you out!" Thomas jeered

Ryan glared across the table at him momentarily before grinning good-humouredly; since they were small he and Thomas had maintained a friendly rivalry which both enjoyed. "Where's that girlfriend of yours anyway, Tommy?"

Thomas narrowed his eyes "First of all, call me Tommy again and see what happens to you!" Ryan chuckled impishly as his friend went on "Secondly, Jade is at her mates' house."

Ryan raised an eyebrow "Scared to take her here in case she falls for my charms?"

"Oh yes, Caulfield. I lose so much sleep at night worrying that my girlfriend might leave me for a badly-dressed tramp with bumfluff!" Thomas rolled his eyes.

This caused another wave of sniggers across the table, including Kalum to whom Ryan directed his next comment "And what are you giggling at, Baby-Face Nelson?"

Kalum scowled as the others laughed; despite being the third oldest of the four he still had yet to grow any sort of facial hair. While his friends had long since grown "bumfluff" as Thomas referred to it, Kalums' razor which had been bought for him a year before remained bone dry and forgotten on his bathroom shelf. While not having stubble wasn't exactly a crisis in Kay's book he still would've liked to have not been the last of them to have a face as smooth as a baby's backside.

Still he couldn't help but laugh along with his mates. He nearly always found that it was impossible for him to stay in a bad mood for long when he had such good company as this.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Aaron, will you please come back to bed?"

Aaron sighed and turned away from the window to look at his partner who was lying in their bed with an almost exasperated expression on his face "He'll be ok, babe."

"I know." Aaron mumbled, feeling slightly ridiculous "I just can't help worrying that something might happen, you know?"

Jackson nodded understandingly before reaching an arm out "Come here for a cuddle." He muttered soothingly.

Aaron willingly obliged and in no time found himself wrapped in Jays arms, head nestled in the crook of his neck. Despite being together twenty-two years in June both of them still found strength and comfort in each other's arms when they needed it most.

Aaron didn't know why he worried so much about Kay. He knew it was completely natural for a parent to worry about their kids, especially as Kalum was his only child, but even so he seemed to be more nervous when it came to Kay going out than Jackson. It wasn't that Jay didn't worry; Aaron still had memories of the mother of all telling-offs a worried-sick Jackson had given a fourteen year old Kay when he had broken his curfew by two hours one time, but generally Jackson seemed to be better at handling his nerves.

Maybe it was because Aaron had darker memories of his own teens than Jackson. While Jay had tried to look for the good in people the teenage Aaron had always felt that it was him against the world and that no one could be trusted. Perhaps that was having a knock-on effect now that his own son had reached the teenage years; some little part of him was still wary of the big, bad world and what potential harm it may cause their son.

Jackson nuzzled his hair "He'll be fine. He's promised to be home before twelve and we both know he's a sensible lad."

"I'm being a prat, aren't I?"

"Not at all; there's nothing wrong with being protective. I'm just saying that there's no need to worry; he's got a wise head on his shoulders and his mates are with him, nothing will happen."

Aaron nodded; he knew Jackson was right and that he was just being a bit paranoid. This was confirmed as the sound of a key being turned in the front door caught his attention, both him and Jackson pausing to hear the soft shutting of the front door and the crossing of their son to his room.

After the brief silence Jackson muttered "There you go. And it's only..." he checked his watch "… 11:42."

Aaron sighed, more relieved than he let on "It doesn't sound like he was drinking anyway."

While obviously knowing that Kay was below the legal drinking age they weren't naïve in thinking that that would stop him getting his hands on drink if he set his heart on it. They knew that straight-up forbidding him to do something like this would probably only encourage him to do just that so they mutually decided to adopt a we'll-accept-it-but-just-be-careful kind of attitude. After all neither could say they hadn't started on the bottle before they were eighteen.

However they hadn't ever seen Kay drink in front of them, and it seemed to strengthen his respect for them knowing that they were willing to loosen the chain a bit, so everyone was a winner.

Aaron, now satisfied knowing their son was home safe, changed the subject "So… how's the project coming along?"

Jacksons face lit up in excitement "Oh it's going great! We just decided on some new plans today…."

Aaron let him babble on excitedly while he simply smiled and played with his husbands fingers, not understanding everything he was talking about but letting him enjoy his moment. Jay was currently working on a big building project, the first major one in which he'd have a leading role in its development. Needless to say Aaron was extremely proud of him and it amused him no end to see Jay's enthusiasm over his new toy.

"So, when will we be able to move?"

Jackson looked surprised "What?"

"When are we moving into our new mansion? Isn't that what big project developers buy their other halves?" Aaron fluttered his eyelashes jokingly.

Jackson chuckled as he brought a hand up to lovingly caress his husbands face "I'm afraid we're just not that far yet. Mind you it might not be too long before the money starts rolling in, Vanessa-"

He heard a poorly-disguised scoff and gave his partner a gentle nudge "Hey, what's that about?"

Aaron cocked an eyebrow; Jay knew perfectly well why his husband hadn't warmed to his business partner Vanessa Sanders. Vanessa was an already highly-recognised developer herself which was why Declan had taken her on board, and judging by the clothes she wore and the car she drove she clearly wasn't scraping for money. In addition she was quite a looker with a nice figure, tall stature and a pretty face framed with blond locks. Whether she was aware of it or not, she was having a profound effect on all the men working in the sector, except for Jackson of course.

However the problem was that it seemed to be Jackson she wanted to have an effect on.

Aaron didn't miss the looks she gave his husband whenever she saw him, or the way she kept placing her hand on his arm whenever they were discussing plans for the project, or the fact that if her tops were a seam tighter they would mesh into her skin. Of course he didn't feel threatened but all the same she knew Jackson was gay and in a relationship, hell she'd even met Aaron a few times, so Aaron would appreciate it if she just buggered off and palmed up someone else's bloke.

Jackson had at first been unaware of her attraction and had been surprised at Aaron's complaints about her behaviour. He could see it now but unlike Aaron found the whole situation rather funny.

Like now as he took note of Aaron's grumpy face he chuckled "Still not her biggest fan then, I take it?"

"Not until she decides to yank her skirt down a few inches and keep her hands to herself." Aaron grunted darkly.

"Ah she's not all bad, she's just a bit…" Jay searched for the word.

"Cracked?"

"Aaron!"

"Well what else do you call a woman who insists on chasing a gay man, leaving alone the fact that he's married with a kid?"

"I'd just call it barking up the wrong tree." Jackson grinned before continuing "Besides you're probably just reading too much into it; no sane woman would be convinced she could turn a gay man, especially one with a family. It's probably just a bit of harmless teasing."

"Whatever she's up to, it isn't just "teasing"!" Aaron snorted.

Jay sighed dramatically "You could be right, after all with my looks what sane man or woman couldn't fall for me?"

"She can fall somewhere else, preferably off a cliff." but Aaron was laughing now, seeing the funny side. Jackson tutted "Naughty boy." but couldn't restrain his own guilty smirk.

Tightening his arms around his husband Jackson gazed at him tenderly before playfully rubbing noses. Giving him a soft kiss he muttered "You're my one and only; you know that."

Aaron beamed and replied smartly "And don't you forget it." before leaning in for another kiss, loving the thought that Sanders could do whatever the hell she liked; his husband was going nowhere.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Kay, you're making me exhausted just watching you!"

"Sorry." Kay stopped moving his chair up and down the living room floor. He smiled crookedly at his da, who had been watching him pace for at least half an hour. "Just nerves."

"What do you have to be nervous of?" Jackson asked with a confidant smile "You'll wipe the floor with them today."

"Fingers crossed." But Kay didn't sound too sure.

Jackson shook his head fondly; Kalum had his first match as captain today and he was a bag of nerves. Standing up he reached a hand out and gently ruffled his son's hair ""Fingers crossed" nothing. You'll do great. The only defeat you'll have to worry about is me kicking your backside at pool tomorrow!"

The three of them were heading down to the Woolie tomorrow to watch the Man U game and Jay had challenged their son to a round of pool afterwards.

Kalum rolled his eyes with a smirk "Dream on."

Jackson only chuckled drily as Aaron joined them, zipping up his jacket "We all set?"

"Nearly." Kay replied, reaching in his sports bag and pulling out a yellow armband which he pulled onto his upper arm. His parents couldn't help but feel proud as they looked at their boy in his sports gear; black trackies, dark blue vest top with the team logo on front and WALSH emblazoned on the back along with his number, and now the captains armband to complete the picture.

He caught them staring "What's wrong?"

Aaron quickly shook his head "Nothing, mate. Just… give them hell today, yeah?"

Kay grinned devilishly "I'll try."

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Aaron and Jackson were seated in the stands of the massive gym where the match was taking place, the match had yet to start and people were still taking their seats. Josh had turned up to watch, as had Chas and Dennis, and also to both Aaron and Jay's surprise Thomas and his girlfriend Jade.

"Wouldn't have heard the end of it if none of us had turned up for this one." He joked. Kay already knew that the other two boys were busy; Joe with coaching the junior boxers and Ryan for unspecified reasons. Still, he was glad one of his friends could make it.

As the players from each team came out onto the floor Aaron and Jackson, as always, looked for Kay's whereabouts. They spotted him around the same time as he did them and he offered a brief cheerful wave before focusing back on the court.

His family and friends watched on as Kalum for the first time ever headed the team huddle and pep talk. Once that had broken up he met the other teams' captain in the centre of the court and they shook hands. Finally he and his team got into position, their rivals mirroring their actions, the shrill blow of the whistle signalling the start of the game.

It was an intense first half, at times bordering on aggressive. One of the rival teams' players had already been sent off and quite a few on the Hotten side had received warnings from the ref, leading to a seemingly heated team discussion during Hottens time-out. While their son was quite a mild-mannered individual both Aaron and Jackson knew all too well that given the right occasion Kay could have just as fiery a temper as Aaron.

They tried not to think that he might have in fact inherited this particular characteristic from his long-dead, unmissed biological father.

The second half was less tense, probably due to the fact that Hotten were miles ahead by six points. Still, knowing that this could change in an instant put huge pressure on the lads and Aaron could see the sweat starting to drip from Kalum's light brown hair and his vest sticking to him as he and his team mates attempted to be all over their rivals like a rash.

Finally in the last five minutes of full-time when both teams were soaked with sweat and their managers along with the audience were hoarse with screaming and yelling a boy on the Hotten side named Scott sank the final basket of the game; ensuring victory for the Hotten team.

Once the final whistle was blown and the Hotten supporters cheered Jackson's eyes sought out their boy on the court. Kay's hair was darkened and slick with sweat, his exhausted arms looked like they were about to give out and his face was flushed but there seemed to be sparks dancing in his eyes as his first game as captain came to a victorious end.

Catching his parents gaze from the crowd he grinned brightly at them and held up his bottle of water in the form of a salute as his team mates joined him for a group celebration hug, pulling him out of sight of his beaming, proud parents.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Good game, cap'n."

Kay grinned as he attempted to towel-dry his hair "Cheers. We played well, didn't we?"

"Well you didn't win by sitting around on your arses did you? In a figure of speech way, of course." Thomas quickly added, realising the mistake in his former sentence.

Kalum only chuckled. Thomas had joined him in the locker room to congratulate him on their win as he wasn't going to be able to stick around much longer. Jade waited patiently by the entrance, not keen on entering a room full of half-dressed, sweat-smelling boys.

Kay continued to chat to his mate as he sprayed himself and pulled on a clean t-shirt. As his head popped out through the hole of the shirt he was surprised to see the figure of a girl in the changing room, chatting to one of his team mates. She was quite pleasant to look at with long auburn hair, green eyes and a cute smile.

Kalum noticed this because the smile seemed to be directed at him.

He confusedly checked around him to make sure it wasn't meant for someone else but found no one other than Thomas who was now staring at him oddly. Turning his head, his eyes widened as he saw the cause of Kay's discomfort.

But she didn't seem to notice Thomas. Once again Kay felt himself clam up and his head go all muddled but deciding he couldn't just stay there gawping like an idiot he forced himself to offer her a small smile of his own, if only to confirm his thoughts.

It got the desired effect as her smile widened in reply. Just then Kalums team mate Scott, with whom she had been talking, packed up his gear and headed for the exit. She followed, but just before leaving turned to look at a fixated Kalum once again and this time offered him a wave.

She was gone before he could bring himself to wave back. Thomas broke the silence with a low whistle "Well, well, well, Kalum Walsh. Who knew you were a heartbreaker!"

Kalum couldn't even bring himself to joke; his head was too foggy as of yet to fully analyse what the hell had just happened. By the time both had exited the changing rooms his head had cleared and he had concluded that what had happened just then was nothing more than the girl being friendly. It was the only logical explanation in his mind.

However both boys were shocked to see Jade approach them rather excitedly, dirty-blond hair bouncing on her shoulders as she seemed to be trying to restrain herself from jumping in her enthusiasm.

"I've just had a chat with Rosaleigh!" she chirped

Both looked at her in confusion "Who?" Thomas asked

She ignored her boyfriend as she continued on "She gave me this!"

Sticking a hand in her pocket she proudly produced a piece of scrap paper, on which a few digits could be seen.

Both Kay and Thomas wondered if the fumes from the locker room had gone to her head. Thomas began awkwardly "So…. You've managed to pull a girl?"

She glared at him as though he was missing the whole point entirely "No, dopey! Kay has!"

Kalum felt as though he had been smacked across the face "WHAT?"

Thomas also looked gobsmacked "What the hell are you talking about?"

She sighed as though it were obvious "Rosaleigh goes to my school and her brother is part of this team. You can't have missed her; she was in helping him get changed a few minutes ago. Anyway, she knows I'm seeing Thomas, which is why…" she grinned widely "…she just asked me who the cute lad with him was."

Kalums jaw slacked; this couldn't be happening. It just didn't seem possible. Rather dumbly he mumbled "And the number?"

She smiled endearingly at her boyfriends' stunned mate "Well it's definitely not for me…"

…..TBC

**Well we all knew this was bound to happen sometime, didn't we?;) Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Is Kalum ok?" Jackson asked his partner worriedly as Aaron cleared away their breakfast plates. Aaron paused thoughtfully; their son had been rather quiet these past few days ever since the day of his basketball game. While he was usually difficult to shut up he seemed to have drawn into himself as of late and what little communication he did offer them was given in grunts. Even the day after his match when he had gone with his dads to watch his beloved Man U thrash Chelsea he had barely uttered a word when most days Aaron would nearly be deafened by the screams of both him and Jackson. His pool session with Jackson did little to raise his spirits as he showed all the enthusiasm of a plastic bag.

He had also taken to living in his room and caused them more worry by not eating much. Both knew he hadn't been sleeping too well either judging by the sounds of a basketball hitting off the backyard wall at all hours of the morning.

Aaron shook his head, looking troubled "I really don't know; he's had a lot on his mind recently but I've never seen him look so gormless over it."

Both had tried talking to Kay about what was troubling him or had made subtle attempts to ease some info out of him but to no avail. The teenager would just retract into himself and bluntly brush it off.

"Maybe it's just mood swings; you know, hormones and stuff." Aaron suggested hopefully.

Jackson nodded "Maybe."

But neither was convinced by this, much as they wanted to be.

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Kalum sat at the usual table in the school canteen waiting on the others, his mind filled with a million things. He hadn't been able to think straight the whole morning and had already been told off twice for not listening in class.

But he couldn't bring himself to concentrate. What had happened last weekend took precedence over his thoughts; he just couldn't bring himself to believe that a girl was actually interested in him. A girl who he'd probably never even laid eyes on before let alone met. One question kept going through his mind: _why?_

His thoughts were interrupted by the scraping of a chair as Ryan slumped down opposite him, dumping his bag carelessly on the floor beside him. It gave Kay some amusement to note that it was barely midday and already Ryan's shirt was untucked, his tie loose and his hands were covered in pen graffiti out of boredom in classes.

Kalum pointed out his inked hands "That's another lunchtime detention then?"

Ryan scoffed "Don't, I've already had a lecture from mum and Adam twice this week over it."

Kalum smirked; to say Ryan was a dedicated academic would be false. While never being punished for anything drastic Ryan had a habit of driving his teachers up the wall by not paying attention in class, "forgetting" his homework, answering back when corrected and for untidiness when it came to uniform. However he never resorted to unruly behaviour; the most offensive act he'd done to a teacher was flip the finger and that was only when he was seriously pushed. He'd been in fist-fights before but not in school since his little scuffle in the infants class; he saw that as seeking attention and he never sought that sort of attention. He took no shit but impressing chavs was below him.

The curious thing was that to the knowing eye Ryan Caulfield was quite intelligent. While not scoring A's in his subjects he always seemed to pass them by the skin of his teeth even if he hadn't heard a word the teacher had said that whole term. Kay was sure that if he were to ask him to describe the battle of Hastings Ryan could very well bluff a more or less accurate account of the event. It wasn't that he was stupid, he just had no interest.

Ryan gave Kalum a look before starting "So, are you going to tell me what's up?"

Kalum's grin fell and a frown replaced it as he once again retreated "Nothing's up." He had made Thomas take a vow of silence over the matter until he figured out what he was going to do.

"Yes there is." Ryan replied stubbornly.

"Look, can we just change the subject?" Kalum could feel his anger level rising.

Ryan didn't bat an eyelid "We'll change the subject once you tell me what's up."

"Oh for God's sake Caulfield you're worse than my parents! It's none of your business so just drop it!" Kay snapped.

"Well Christ Kalum, at least give me a warning the next time you're on your flippin' time of the month!" Ryan shot back sarcastically.

Kalum was stunned at this; it was rare that Ryan called him by his full name and even rarer when Ryan used that tone of voice as he wasn't easily pissed off. It was this that made him realise that he was behaving like an ass and he sighed "I'm sorry, Ry. I'm being a dick."

"You are." Ryan agreed but his tone was softer "I'm only asking because myself and the other lads are concerned, and by the sounds of it so is your folks. If you can't talk to them or us then who the hell else are you going to talk to? Keeping it to yourself and grunting excuses are only going to get you so far."

Kay managed a feeble grin "Easy for you to say, you just seem to be immune to any sort of worry."

"Life works better when you just don't give a shit, mate." Ryan winked.

Kay was about to open up when others joined the table. While he wouldn't have minded if it was just the four of them he wasn't comfortable discussing his troubles with other lads who were also at the table. Ryan understood this and kept stum, satisfied with knowing that he'd get the full story later.

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Jackson arrived home in the early evening and found his son sitting at the kitchen table twirling a pencil between his fingers, mind elsewhere. In silence he started lifting items out of a shopping bag and placing them in the cupboards.

Kalum avoided his eyes and kept staring blankly at the table but was surprised to see a plate of food suddenly placed down in front of him. He looked at it curiously; sandwiches, chocolate spread and jam sandwiches.

He looked up questionably at his father who was leaning back against the worktop, arms folded with a grin on his face "If you won't eat that, I don't know what else you'll eat!"

Kalum couldn't stop a small smile from appearing on his own face which Jackson chose to take as a truce flag. Sitting down opposite his son he began softly "But is there a reason you haven't been eating well this week, mate? More than that, you haven't been yourself all week. I'm not mad but me and dad are just a bit worried."

Kalum paused as he bit into one of his sandwiches but Jackson didn't back down "We know when something's on your mind, son. We don't want to look like we're invading your privacy or anything but you know we don't like seeing you annoyed and we can't change anything unless you tell us."

Kalum slowly nodded to show he understood but still wasn't sure where to begin. Jackson gently began making suggestions "Is it school?"

Kay shook his head.

"Is it someone giving you trouble?"

He answered once again in the negative, certain his da wouldn't get it.

He was wrong. "Is it a girl?"

He froze and Jackson knew he had hit the nail on the head. He smiled encouragingly "So, what about this girl then?"

It was then Kalum finally gave in and told his father the whole story, keeping it short and sweet and to the point. Jackson was surprised; not because Kay had pulled, after all his son was a fine looking lad, but because of Kay's reaction to the situation. This would be most boys' fantasy yet Kay was treating it like a death sentence.

"Ok, so a girl likes you. What's so bad about that?"

Kalum explained about not having a clue who the girl was, which was one of the main things bugging him. Jackson could understand that to a point though he tried to make Kay see the good side of this "Well if you think about it that's kind of the exciting bit about having a secret admirer."

"I guess." Though Kay still looked doubtful.

"But would I be right in guessing that that isn't the only thing putting you off?"

Kalum hesitated before admitting "What if I mess it up? What if I'm not what she expected? I mean it goes back to the point that she only knows me by sight."

"Mate, that's what a first date is all about! Very few people on a first date unless they've been friends beforehand know everything about the other, me and your dad knew barely anything about each other when we first started going out."

"But this is different; what if-"Kalum broke off and averted his eyes.

"Kay…"

"…What if she's bitten off more than she can chew with me? It's different liking me from a distance but what if she meets up with me and realises that it's not what she imagines?"

"Hang on." Jackson looked his son straight in the eye "Are you trying to say that you think she'll find you being in a chair more off-putting than she imagines?"

"In a nutshell, yeah."

Jackson sighed heavily "Kalum, you're a very intelligent lad but at times you can be really blind. The girl obviously knows you're in a chair and I can guarantee you that she's put some thought into things before giving you her number. You said her brother's on your team so a disability is obviously something she's used to. She _knows _what she's getting herself into, mate!"

Kalum's heart suddenly felt a bit lighter as the truth of Jackson's words sunk in.

"And anyway…" Jackson continued "I know this is your father talking, but you're a handsome chap. Do you think I haven't noticed girls looking at you before?"

"They haven't!"

"Oh yes they have. You just don't notice it because you don't expect it, which by the way is ridiculous. Any half-decent girl wouldn't let a piece of metal put her off."

Kalum smiled at this; even if he was half-convinced his da was bullshitting.

"But even so mate, I can't promise either of you will be attracted to the other once you do actually meet up. That's just the risk you take with dating no matter who you are, but you'll never know unless you give it a shot. Have you called her yet?"

Kay reddened and shook his head "Not yet."

"Ok. Are you going to?"

"….maybe."

"Alright." Jackson nodded before grinning "Rosaleigh. That's a nice name. If things go well I'm definitely going to christen the pair of you "Kayleigh"."

"You do and I swear you'll be disowned!"

"I'm the parent; it's my job to embarrass you in front of whatever girls you bring to the house!"

Still both couldn't help but laugh as the tension of the situation finally lifted.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Aaron was finally on the way home; the day had been long and he couldn't wait to put his feet up and maybe catch a film with Jackson and Kay, see if it would cheer his son up a bit. He knew Jackson would be home before him and wondered if he'd had any success in making Kay open up.

His thoughts were interrupted as he caught sight of a car parked on the side of the road, by the looks of it experiencing some engine trouble. Aaron drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the steering wheel before sighing; sometimes he was too nice for his own damn good.

Pulling over he got out of the car and approached, eyebrows rising as he saw the make of the auto. Clearly the driver wasn't stuck for cash. The said driver had the bonnet up but was nowhere to be seen.

Aaron could hear the faint sound of furious chatter coming from inside the vehicle. Drawing up to the tinted window of the driver's side he gently rapped the glass with his finger. Chatter within the car stopped and was replaced by a whirring noise as the window was wound down.

Aaron's stomach went cold as the visage of Vanessa Sanders came into view. Only he could be this lucky!

Clearly he was not a face she was eager to see either "Can I help you… Alan, is it?" she inquired rather stiffly.

As loath as he was to do so, he forced himself to say politely "Aaron, actually. It looks like you're having a bit of car trouble; fancy a hand?"

"That's nice of you Aaron but I was just about to call in the professionals."

Aaron felt his hackles rise ever so slightly at this. As much as he loved the thought of just leaving her stranded here he knew Jay wouldn't be impressed once he got word of it "Well today must be your lucky day; I happen to be a professional mechanic myself."

"Oh, that's news to me."

Aaron could feel his patience starting to wear bit by bit already; there was no possible way that she couldn't have known about his occupation, all of Jackson's other workmates pretty much knew everything about his family down to Kalums school grades and Aarons weekly timetable.

"So do you want a hand or what?" he grunted

She sighed as though it was a heavy decision for her to make "I suppose a look wouldn't hurt, I just hope I'm not taking up your time."

"Not at all." Aaron replied innocently "I was just heading home to spend the evening on the sofa with Jay but I'm sure he won't mind."

He couldn't help but smirk as he went to fetch his tool kit, not missing the less than pleased look on her face.

Small talk was strained as he worked, Vanessa standing about a metre behind with her arms folded and eyes watching him like a hawk, as though she was expecting him to try and steal her car.

"So…Jackson knows you'll be a bit late then?"

"Yep, just sent him a text there." He raised his head slightly "Could you hold this for a sec please?"

She reluctantly took the wrench offered to her in her perfectly manicured hand and dangled it by her side gingerly. "Is he home alone?"

"No, reckon our lad will be with him."

"Ah yes, Cayden isn't it?"

"Kalum." He corrected her "Plus if I know them they'll probably be too busy blowing up the Xbox and making bets left right and centre to even notice I'm not there."

She raised an unimpressed eyebrow "Kalum bets?"

Aarons brow furrowed at her tone and he struggled to keep a civil tongue "Only silly little things like chores and stuff. Jackson does it too whenever he's playing one of us."

"What does Jackson bet?"

Now it his turn to have a little fun. "Well when it's with Kay it really only sticks to chores and such. With me it's more…favours, if you catch my drift."

He grinned to himself as he sensed her tense behind him before adding "And if I'm honest there's times when I really don't push myself to win."

Aaron couldn't see the expression on Vanessa's face as her grip tightened on the wrench, knuckles whitened against the skin. Who did this grease monkey think he was talking to in this vulgar manner? She couldn't believe that such a specimen was the choice partner of a man like Jackson.

She herself was shocked by her next thought as she visualised beating all that smugness out of him with the tool in her hand. She hesitated; fingers flexing on the cold metal. She knew these thoughts were absurd but she couldn't help but contemplate how _easy _it would be; his back was turned, they were out in the middle of nowhere and no cameras or traffic were in sight. Her thumb grazed the potential weapon thoughtfully; one blow would do it, one quick one to the back of the head and it would be goodnight Vienna.

While she knew such thoughts were not natural and disturbing she couldn't deny the slight pleasurable thrill they were giving her as she twirled the wrench in her hand, fighting back a sadistic smirk.

As Aaron's head flicked back around she had to quickly catch a grip of herself "That's it sorted. Should be ok now but I'll check over it in the next few weeks to be sure."

She nodded stiffly "Thank you."

Aaron gratefully got back into his own vehicle and started up the ignition. As he drove off he couldn't stop a smug grin creeping onto his face, oblivious to the dark turnings in the depts of Vanessa Sanders' mind and how close he had come to wearing his smile, quite literally, on the other side of his face.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Kalum sat at the window seat of a café with his coffee untouched and hands going from clasped to unclasped and travelling from the table to his lap to his hair. To say he was nervous would be understatement of the century.

The day after the talk with his da he had finally worked up the courage to call the number. He had debated over whether to text or call, settling in the end for calling. He couldn't stop his pulse from racing as he hit the dial button and new fears came into his mind as the dialling tone went out; what if he said something stupid? What if she found him boring? What if she had been acting on a whim giving her number to Jade for him and regretted it now? What if she was pissed at him for waiting so long to call? What if-

"Hello?"

His heart narrowly avoided failing from nerves "Um hi, it's Kalum Walsh."

"Oh, hi!"

He had been relieved to hear the pleased tone of her voice. They didn't say too much on the phone, just run of the mill conversation for a couple of minutes before Kay mumbled rather hurriedly "D'youwannameetup?"

"Sorry?"

He took a calming breath "Just wondering if you're free sometime would you like to meet up?"

Her reply was enthusiastic "Sure!"

So here he was, dolled up in a nice shirt and jeans waiting in a small café for the mysterious Rosaleigh. Normally he couldn't give a flying fuck about the clothes he wore but for this occasion he had been as bad as any girl; was this too casual? Too smart? In the end Joe had bluntly advised him to just go bare-arsed.

All three of the boys knew now and had been quite supportive. Aaron and Jackson of course were delighted for him though they respected his pride by not making a big deal over it. As for his grandmothers Kalum was half-tempted to not let them know he was dating until he was actually married with kids of his own! Playing something like this down was not in the nature of Chas or Hazel and the later they knew the better.

He checked the time on his phone anxiously, knowing he was early but needing to steady his nerves. As he waited he wondered what the girl might look like. He'd been tempted to ask Jade to describe her or maybe get her full name so he could look her up online but decided against it in the end, thinking it better to be a surprise.

Five minutes passed; nothing. Ten; still nothing. By the time she was running fifteen minutes late Kay was starting to panic.

Just then he felt his heart stop as he heard from behind him a cheerful "No beanie hat today then?"

In expectation Kalum slowly turned his head and as he did so his jaw dropped. Before he could stop himself he blurted "You!"

The seventeen year old girl took the seat opposite and brushed a strand of auburn hair out of the way of her startling green eyes, flashing a still shocked Kalum the same smile that had caught his attention the first time he'd seen her.

"Me." The girl from the locker room replied simply.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Kalum looked so stunned that it prompted her to ask concernedly "Is everything ok? Were you expecting someone else?"

"You're Rosaleigh?" he asked dumbly.

She grinned crookedly "That's me."

"But… I mean…Scott!"

She frowned confusedly "What about Scott?"

He stared at her "Aren't you seeing him?"

She stared back before it hit her and she started chuckling "Oh please tell me you didn't!"

"Didn't what?"

She continued laughing; Kay couldn't help but notice she had a nice laugh "Think I was going out with Scott! Ew! Scott's my brother!"

Realisation dawned on Kay and he felt heat flood every part of his face "Oh God, I'm so sorry! I'm so stupid!"

"Don't apologise, really!" she smiled reassuringly "I think it's sweet." While this gave him relief it did little to help the redness of his face.

"So…did you order already?"

To his surprise he found it quite easy to talk to her and he barely noticed the minutes passing. She was bubbly and enthusiastic and conversation flowed from her almost naturally. From this Kalum was able to find out quite a bit about her and she him; as well as discussing the normal stuff like school and families they found they had a lot of similar interests.

But of course, they didn't agree on everything

"Sports aren't boring!" he protested playfully

"They _are_!" she insisted "Most anyway, not that I'd expect a basketball captain to agree with me."

He smiled "C'mon, there has to be some that catch your interest."

"Swimming and ice-skating and that's for leisure reasons only!"

He chuckled "Well that's two sports I can definitely say you'd be better at than me!"

He noticed her blush ever so slightly as she realised too late what she had just said. To assure her that he took no offence he went on "So, coming to watch Scott play must be a pain in the ass then is it?"

"Wheelchair basketball isn't too unbearable; it takes a bit of skill. Certain things make it easier to watch." She added smoothly.

Kay almost choked on his coffee as he realised the meaning behind her words. Quickly concluding that flirting back was probably beyond his abilities he changed the topic "Nice spot you picked." He gazed around him "Never been in here before."

"It's a decent place; no offence to you but on every other date I've been on the guy usually picks a crap location so sorry if I just kind of took the wheel this time. There's only so many times a girl can go to Mickey D's you know?"

But Kalum barely heard her as his mind was focused in solely on her first sentence. He didn't have time to say anything as her ringtone suddenly rang out. Apologising, she picked it up and Kay waited patiently while she talked to whoever was on the other line.

She looked disappointed as she hung up "That was mum. Sorry but I have to go; she's waiting outside."

"No problem." He was surprised at how reluctant he was for her to go and even more surprised to see that they had been there for nearly two and a half hours. He waited while she put on her jacket and although he knew he'd kick himself later for it he forced himself to ask "Rosaleigh?"

"Yeah?"

"This might sound stupid but… was this a date?" He just needed to know for sure, to save any false hopes.

He needn't have worried.

She raised an amused eyebrow "Well I didn't give you my number for a post-match interview, Kay."

She gave him a final smile and wink before turning to leave "Call me soon, yeah?" she shot casually over her shoulder.

"Will do." He nodded, unable to stop the feeling of feather-like lightness taking over his body and the beaming smile spreading onto his face.

He didn't know how long he'd sat there just smiling to himself like an idiot before he heard the buzz of his phone. He read the text with amusement

_Have fun today Romeo? Dad_

Aaron smiled as he showed the reply to his husband

_Tons:) Any chance of a lift home? Kay_

….TBC

**More to come next time, chapter 4 will be up almost immediately. Thanks for reading! x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_April_

Kalum was helping Aaron with the dishes one bright Sunday afternoon when his dad commented "So, how are things going with the girlfriend?"

Kalum almost dropped the plate he was drying "She's not my girlfriend!" he spluttered in embarrassment.

Aaron cocked an amused eyebrow "Ok then, how are things going with the girl you've been seeing every weekend and talking to every night these past four weeks?"

Kalum felt like pulling his beanie hat right down over his face; he hadn't realised that his parents had heard him talking over the phone and webcam. "Good, I guess." He mumbled in reply to his fathers' question.

He didn't just guess; he knew. Things had been going great with Rosaleigh these past few weeks despite not being able to meet up as much as both would've liked due to school. Still both enjoyed the times they did meet, Kay being just as nervous on their second meeting as their first in case she secretly hadn't liked what she'd seen the first time. Of course, he needn't have worried.

"You meeting up today?" Aaron asked casually, trying to hide a small smile that was threatening to split on his face.

"Yep, we're going to the cinema at eight. That ok?"

"'Course."

Aaron didn't say anymore on the subject much as he wanted to for the sake of not embarrassing Kay further. They finished the rest of the dishes in companionable silence which allowed Kalum to focus on his thoughts.

These meetings over the past month with Rosaleigh had been enjoyable, really great but confusing if Kalum was honest. While they did the usual dating thing of going to a café or the park or the cinema and at times during conversation a small bit of flirting was exchanged Kay still wasn't sure what exactly was going on with them. For one thing neither had even made a move to first base yet.

He couldn't help but wonder if maybe Rosaleigh's initial attraction to him had simmered into simple platonic affection over the course of weeks. While he wouldn't consider this the most terrible thing in the world he still hoped that it wasn't the case. He couldn't deny that he was attracted to the girl; she was bubbly, out-spoken, good-humoured and as friendly as they came. The fact that he found her stunning also contributed to his attraction. But he couldn't go on much longer without having the record set straight for the sake of his peace of mind; if she just wanted to be friends after all then ok, he'd deal with it, if she wanted something else… well, wow. But he had to find out for certain.

The time for the cinema came around quick and once again he had the pleasure of seeing Rosaleigh's face in the flesh. He had intended on asking her to set him straight before the film began but found that he was unable as she babbled excitedly about the movie they were going to see. He couldn't just launch into a serious conversation like that out of the blue.

The film they'd gone to see was a horror. Kalum found Rosaleigh's choice both relieving and impressive; he'd been dreading the thought of having to sit through a silly, predictable rom-com. But that was another aspect of her personality that drew Kalum in; she wasn't the type of girl who whinged about chipped nails and simpered over the latest clean-cut, baby-faced boyband members. She was strong-minded and had a bit of feistiness and bite, which he strongly approved of.

The film was alright in his opinion, a little OTT with the gore and the plotline a little ridiculous but watchable. Kalum wasn't easily creeped out by horrors but he couldn't help but jump slightly as he felt something unexpectedly crawl over his arm. Looking down he saw it was Rosaleigh's hand resting on his lower arm and grinned; she had successfully attempted to startle him.

Still he was surprised as he turned his attention back to the screen to feel her hand remain on his arm; in fact it was moving down lower. Once it had reached his hand he felt her long slender fingers slowly and carefully lace with his own, holding on tightly. He felt something inside him flip as he hesitantly closed his own fingers over hers. He told himself that this could mean anything; maybe she was a bit more scared by the movie than she was letting on and was looking for some comfort.

But somehow, he didn't think so.

Nothing was said for the rest of the film and it was only when they had to leave that she let go of his hand. The usual chatter took place as they left and caught the bus; Rosaleigh lived a good distance away from Kalum but the walk from her bus stop was quite long and he didn't like the idea of her walking it alone in the dark. He'd ring one of his dads for a lift once she was home.

The journey to her house was uneventful yet she couldn't help but joke "I'd hate to see what would've happened if a mugger just appeared out of nowhere; poor bloke wouldn't stand a chance."

Kalum laughed "Go ahead and mock but I'll have you know I'm a black-belt in kickboxing."

This caused her to chuckle even more before looking at him fondly "Is there any talent you don't have?"

"Well, I'm shit at dancing. Not much good at cycling either. Plus I can't sing." He smirked.

They'd reached her house. Kalum knew it from the last time he'd walked her home; it was quite impressive. She leaned back against the gate with her arms folded, not wanting to go inside just yet "Are you sure you don't want my mum to give you a lift? She does it with Scott all the time so she knows what she's at and she won't mind. It'll save you having to wait in the dark on your own." She sounded a bit anxious.

"No, it's fine thanks." He smiled. He certainly wasn't keen on meeting her parents before he'd even established if they were a thing or not.

"She'll be incredibly disappointed; she wants to meet you." She smiled a little shyly "She only knows you through watching Scott play. She thinks you're handsome."

Kalum grinned impishly "Been a while since her last eye-test has it?"

While Rosaleigh would normally engage with the joking this time she kept a rather serious expression on her face. Kalum started to panic slightly; had he said something wrong?

She took a step towards him "You really shouldn't put yourself down like that. There's a reason why I got Jade to give you my number that time, you know."

Kalum felt his insides turn to mush as he swallowed hard "What reason was that?"

She smiled before admitting "Sorry if this makes me sound shallow, I hope it doesn't, but I thought you were gorgeous."

Kalum didn't know how the hell he was going to reply to this but in the end it turned out he didn't have to. Stooping slightly, Rosaleigh brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes before gently placing a hand on his neck and leaning in, placing her lips on Kay's.

It wasn't as Kay had expected, but in a good way. He'd originally worried that he might not know what to do but was thankfully finding it easy to operate on instinct. He'd been kissed before but only brisk, quick kisses in games like spin the bottle and such. This was different. It was soft, slow and sweet. It was nice.

He felt disappointed as they broke off and he reluctantly had to open his eyes. He saw her smiling almost bashfully at him as she muttered "You do have a lot of talents."

With that she turned to open her gate and without looking back walked up the front path to her door. She gave a still-stunned Kay a final smile and wave before shutting the door.

It was only as a drunk-with-happiness Kay made his way back down the road that he realised he had never asked Rosaleigh his question. Still, he doubted there was any need now!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jackson was speaking to Hazel over the phone; herself and Bob were off on one of her travels and she called every so often to catch up on news. With Aaron listening in the background he innocently told her all they had been up to in the past while.

"Is Kalum there?"

"He's actually asleep, mum. Do you want me to wake him?"

"No, no, leave him be and I'll call him tomorrow. How's he getting on?"

Aaron watched on with a smirk as Jackson said quite casually "He's doing fine; getting good grades in all his subjects, captaining the basketball team, hanging about with his mates, the same old. He just got in a while ago from the cinema with the girlfriend."

"The WHAT?"

Aaron started laughing as he heard her reaction from where he was sitting. Jay calmly remarked "Oh it's getting late mum I better let you go. Tell Bob we said hi, yeah?"

"Now hang on just a min-" she began

"Bye mum! Love you!" Jackson chirped before hitting the end call button to silence her protests.

Aaron snickered as he put the phone down "You know she's going to murder you the next time she's round?"

"Nah, she'll be too busy embarrassing the life out of Kay by telling Rosaleigh all sorts of cringey stories from when he was little."

"Like the time he tried to shave himself with your razor?"

Jackson nodded nostalgically; he'd never forget the memory of a young Kay watching him shave one morning, full of wonder at the object which could slide over his daddy's face slicing all the hairs off without cutting the skin. Jackson had barely turned his back for two seconds when he was startled by a sharp, pain-fuelled yell behind him and turned to see blood dripping from a small gash on his shocked sons face, his father's razor in his small hand. Maybe there was a reason why Kay's face was delaying the presence of stubble.

"Or the time he tried to set a burglar trap in the kitchen by putting his toy cars in front of the door?"

Aaron remembered this all too well; he still had the bump on the back of his head to remind him. The moral of that story was that the Home Alone films clearly were not a good influence on their boy.

They shared a brief companionable silence as they fondly reminiscenced. It was then Aaron commented a little sadly "Went fast didn't it?"

"Too fast." Jackson agreed, also with a tone of regret.

"Really does seem like only yesterday he was starting school, now he's leaving for university! Christ Jay, I can even remember the day you came home with the promotion for the job you have now; that's nearly ten years ago!"

"I know, it's crazy! We're getting old."

"Speak for yourself." Aaron snorted, causing his husband to snicker "I'm not the one going grey!"

"It's no flamin' wonder I'm going grey with the stress and abuse I get at home!" Aaron shot back bitterly.

Jackson smiled as he placed a hand on the side of his husbands face and turned his head towards him, fingers stroking the skin of his jaw tenderly "If it's any consolation, you'd make one sexy silver fox."

Aaron rolled his eyes but he was smiling now. He took hold of the hand that was caressing his face and kissed the knuckles. Looking down he noticed that it was Jay's left hand he was holding

"There's another thing; twenty years this June." He muttered, gazing at Jay's wedding band intently.

"Yep, you going to buy me a set of china?" Jay joked.

Aaron blinked "Excuse me?"

"China's the traditional gift for a twentieth anniversary. Or platinum."

"Yeah, like you wouldn't chip a piece of china as soon as you'd look at it. Besides you've already gotten your gift haven't you?"

"Oh indeed I have!" Jacksons eyes sparkled at the thought of it. As part of Aaron's 40th birthday present Chas, Hazel, Paddy, other members of the Dingle clan and Kay had bunched together to buy Aaron and Jackson a two week holiday in the Seychelles for their anniversary. This meant Jackson was getting nothing for his birthday and maybe not even anything for either of them for Christmas but they thought this a more than reasonable price for a once in a lifetime trip like this.

Aaron could feel his husband's hand creeping up the back of his shirt "Can't wait to have you all to myself for a full fortnight."

Aaron smirked and gave him a playful shove so that he was lying flat on his back, Aaron leaning over him supported by his hands. Bending his head he captured Jackson's mouth with his own, letting him know just how much he was looking forward to their break away.

Once he pulled away he looked down at his husbands pleased face. Fuck, even at age 42 Aaron found him breathtaking. And judging by Jackson's adoring, dark-eyed gaze he didn't find Aaron too bad either.

Features full of mischief Aaron muttered "I know you like the silver fox look and all but I read a very helpful tip somewhere recently about how to make yourself look younger."

"Oh?" Jackson cocked an eyebrow

Aaron nodded solemnly "Yeah, apparently having sex 4 times a week can knock a few years off you. Pity it's so much effort isn't it?"

Jackson feigned a heavy sigh "Sounds like a lot of hard work alright. I mean I'm all for the silver fox look but I can see how unhappy it's making you so we may just have to make the sacrifice."

"What a pity." Aaron agreed, trying so hard not to break his straight face. It was all he could do not to leap off the sofa as he got to his feet and held a hand out for Jackson "Best get started then, eh?"

His act slipped however as he felt his husbands arms wrap themselves around his waist from behind and kisses being laid on his neck as they ascended the stairs, causing Aaron's face to crack into a blissful grin

"You know, I'm starting to look a bit mature around the face myself. Maybe we should play it safe and give me the treatment as well. A separate one, just to be sure it works." Jay mumbled against his partners neck.

They'd reached their room door at this stage "You mean we'd need to do it 8 times a week then? And to think there's so many other things I'd rather be doing…"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The next day Aaron was strolling back from the shop, still on a high from the first stages of his "treatment" the night before, when he came across an all too familiar flash car parked outside the Woolpack. Whatever his feelings towards the owner he couldn't deny it was an impressive make of car and he couldn't resist taking a closer look; attracted like a moth to a flame.

However he'd barely come within a foot of the vehicle when he was startled by a shrill snap "And just what are you playing at?"

Looking up he saw a vexed Vanessa storming in his direction, eyes ablaze. Aaron raised a surprised eyebrow "You what?"

"What are you up to, sneaking about my car like a creeping Jesus?"

Aaron's temper flared up "Hang on a fucking minute that is bang out of order!"

"Is it? From what I've heard you have a bit of a history in theft!"

Aaron could only stare at her in shocked disgust; this one definitely had a screw loose somewhere "Well guess what pet, without this "thief" your car would've ended up in the scrapyard weeks ago! I'm not gonna lie I flamin' tried so hard to give you a chance but how the hell Jackson is able to stand you I'll never know!"

With that he turned to leave furiously; he could hardly wait to get home so he could call Jay and warn him about the maniac he was working with.

"I could say the same about you. You don't deserve him."

This stopped Aaron dead in his tracks as his head snapped back "What?"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

She was wearing a superior, nasty smile that gave Aaron the urge to smash her face in

"Jackson's witty, intelligent, charming and-" Her grin widened nastily "I must say, he's quite easy on the eye…"

Finally, Aaron's theory was confirmed. "Oh I know all that, but do you know what else he is?" Aaron snarled, taking a menacing step back towards her so as to look her right in the face "He's _mine_. All mine. So you can just back off!"

"Oh, own him now do we?"

"He belongs to me, the same way I belong to him. That's the way marriage works. We've been together nearly twenty-two years and we have a seventeen year old son. He loves me, I love him, and there's nothing a mentally-deranged tart like you can do to ever change that. So whether I deserve him or not it's me he wants to be with so _you…_" he lowered his voice threateningly "… can just keep your manicured, slapper hands off him."

"And what if I don't?" she answered cheekily

Aaron glowered at her "I don't hit women." He snarled "But I could make life very unpleasant if need be. But I doubt I'll even have to resort to that; you're a twenty-four carat nutjob if you think a married man, a gay one at that, with a family is going to want anything to do with you once he sees your true colours."

"Well I know I can give him something you'll never be able to." She shot back with an unpleasant look.

"Which is?"

"Well money for one thing. Endless amounts of cash. Also his own children."

Aaron felt something dangerously close to snapping inside his head as he growled "Jackson already has a child or are you that wrapped up in yourself you never noticed?"

"Like I said, his _own_. Come next year when the lad reaches eighteen he'll no longer be Jackson's responsibility. An adopted child is hardly the equivalent of a child of your own."

Aaron saw red as he snarled into her face "You try saying that to him. I dare you. You go into that office and you tell Jackson Walsh that Kalum isn't his son and just see what happens. I guarantee that you'll be wearing that cocky smile on the other side of your face!

"Also, don't make me laugh by trying to tell me what my own husband wants. Yeah we don't have piles of money but he has me and Kay and I promise you that I can make him happier than you ever could with any amount of money, because I have something _you _don't."

"What would make you think that?" she scoffed.

He leaned in closer "Well for one thing." He whispered lowly "It wasn't your name he kept calling out last night."

She turned puce with rage as he finished with a warning "Now, why don't you just hop in your fancy car and piss off away from me and my family? Pick yourself up a little Chihuahua or something to make the loneliness go away."

With that he turned his back on his husbands enraged colleague and walked away, gravely suspecting that things weren't over just yet.

Little guessing that they had barely even begun.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Aaron was seated on the sofa, chin rested on clasped hands, head pounding with so many outraged thoughts. That bitch! How fucking dare she even think that she had a chance of stealing Jackson away from him? And how fucking _dare_ she talk about Kalum that way? Jackson was Kay's father in every possible way; blood meant nothing.

He couldn't decide what to do; whether to call Jackson or not. It wasn't that he didn't think Jay would believe him, it was just the consequences that troubled him. Naturally he didn't give a damn about the consequences for Vanessa; after what she'd said particularly about their son she deserved no less than being put through a brick wall in his opinion but he knew how much this building project meant to his husband and how close it was to being finished. It would crush him to have it taken all away from him now. Aaron didn't want to be responsible for that.

Vanessa would keep quiet, Aaron was almost sure of that. She was many things but stupid was not one of them. She couldn't possibly think she stood any chance in tearing them apart, if she did then Jackson would be able to see her for what she was without any assistance from Aaron. But that was a big "if" and for that reason Aaron would hold his tongue for now. Holding it in would kill him but for the sake of Jackson's happiness he would put up with it.

He heard the front door close and looked up as his partner entered the room, beaming as he saw Aaron "Hey babe." He bent to give him a kiss "Good day?"

"Decent." Aaron smiled weakly. Jackson frowned at his husband's gloomy expression "You sure? You look a little spooked. Anything happen?"

Aaron shook his head as Jay sat down beside him "Nope, just feeling a bit off is all."

"Can I get you anything like a cup of tea or something?" Jackson worriedly placed a hand on his thigh and squeezed comfortingly. Aaron gazed at him "Can I just have a hug?"

"Course you can!" Jackson opened his arms to let a willing Aaron into them "Why the hell would you think you'd need to ask that, you sod?" he wrapped his arms tightly around his partner. Aaron inhaled his scent and shut his eyes contentedly as he held him tightly; this was his, no one else's. He'd put Sanders 6 foot in the ground before he'd lose Jackson to her.

"Love you, Jay."

"I love you too." Jackson rubbed his back comfortingly. As Aaron moved back Jackson asked once more "You sure there's nothing you want to talk to me about?"

"No, seriously. Everything's fine." Aaron grinned "It's probably just tiredness."

"Not surprising after last night." Jay chuckled before pretending to peer at his husbands face "And you definitely look a bit younger so your cunning plan must be working!"

Aaron laughed before leaning in for a kiss. He could always rely on Jay to cheer him up, which was one of the many things he loved him for.

"You know you two really need to put up a sign or something to warn me before I come into a room!"

Aaron and Jay parted with a groan as the bemused tone of their teenage son reached their ears. With a grimace he approached them still dressed in his school uniform "Well you're one to complain, angel flippin' Gabriel; I don't remember you wearing lip-gloss when you left for school this morning." Jackson smirked.

Kay's ears turned beetroot as he furiously rubbed at his mouth with his sleeve. "Met Rosaleigh after school then, I take it?" Aaron chided lightly.

"Might've done." Kay grunted "We just went to the park for a bit and chatted."

"You did a bit more than chat by the looks of things." Aaron snickered.

Kalum seemed to be looking for a hole to bury himself in "Daaaad!"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop." Though the smile remained "Anyway that comedian you like is on in a few minutes; care to grace us with your presence?"

"Yeah, why not."

Aaron couldn't help but smile contentedly as the three of them sat laughing at the antics of the on-screen comedian. This was exactly how it should be; him and his two boys just lounging around enjoying each other's company. This was the family set-up all three had known and enjoyed for the past thirteen years and Aaron was damned if he'd let that cow destroy it for them. She could do her worst.

…TBC

**As always, thank you for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to all for your reviews and for sticking with the story.**

**Chickybabes: my original plan actually was to set Kay up with Cassie but I was worried it might be too predictable so I just went with an OC.:)**

**Chapter 5**

_May_

Sunlight crept in through a chink in the curtains and rested at a perfect angle straight across Jackson's closed eyes. Grimacing, Jay attempted to remain in his unconscious state but to no avail. With a sigh he surrendered and his eyelids flickered open groggily; morning person and all though he was he still enjoyed his Sunday morning sleep-ins and being cheated out of it by a glowing ball of gas in the sky wasn't something that pleased him.

Turning his head slightly to his left he caught sight of an object that _did _please him very much indeed. Smiling, he noticed Aaron was still snoozing like a baby beside him; chest heaving steadily, mouth slightly agape and closed eyelids twitching every so often as he dreamed.

He saw that his partners left wrist was lying at an odd angle beneath him and knowing that it would be painful when he woke up Jackson gently eased it out from under him. Taking care not to wake him Jay carefully removed the Rolex watch which had adorned Aaron's wrist for just over ten years now, ever since he had received it as a gift from Jackson on his thirtieth birthday, and carefully placed it on their nightstand before returning his attention to his partner's wrist.

He made a face at the reddish-purple lines running across the flesh and began tenderly caressing and rubbing the skin, hoping to relieve most of the pain before his husband woke up. As he did so he studied the other markings on Aaron's wrist, these ones permanent and spelling out the name of their son in Italic letters, similar to the other name tattoo on his chest. Jackson smiled as he continued to softly massage the soreness away; for someone who had constantly been at loggerheads with his parental family Aaron was entirely devoted to his own family, meaning of course his husband and son.

Jackson felt guilty as he wondered if Aaron had felt lonely last night; Kay had spent the night at Joe's and he had attended a business meeting which finished late. His heart had almost broke to see first Aaron's forlorn face as he went out the door and then to see upon his return him fast asleep sitting up in bed, obviously waiting for his partners return but drifting off in the process.

He also noticed that recently Aaron looked a bit down whenever Jackson had to go to work at all. While not one hundred per cent certain of the cause Jay guessed that it might have to do with the number of hours he had had to work this past couple of weeks, leaving them with hardly any time together. Jackson was grateful that the project would be wrapping up more or less by the end of this week; no more long hours or having to wear stifling shirts at meetings!

And of course he couldn't wait to get back to focusing on more important things which he felt he had been neglecting this past while, and there was no time like the present to get a head-start on it.

Aaron smiled through the fog of his slumber as he felt hands crawling over his body and wet kisses being pressed to his throat, his jaw and finally his mouth before the pattern was repeated. With eyes still closed he made a pleasurable growl in his throat and stretched to expose more of his neck "Jay…"

Much to his disappointment the ministrations stopped and his eyes snapped open to see his husband's cheekily smiling face resting on a propped arm, gazing at him tenderly. "Good morning, darling." Jackson drawled in the worst yuppie accent imaginable.

But Aaron could overlook his silliness just this once; he was just so pleased to see him after waiting up for ages last night and trying in vain to keep his eyes opened. Grinning sleepily he yawned "'Morning."

"Missed you last night." Jackson murmured softly, fingers of one hand carding themselves through his partners soft, jet-black (mostly) hair. He found his husband even more gorgeous than usual first thing in the morning; blue eyes full of sleep, hair sticking up at odd angles and face looking so boyishly handsome and innocent.

Aaron winced as he went to move his left arm. Jackson noticed his reaction and gently took hold of the wrist once more "Does it still hurt?" he asked as his fingers tried sooth the tender muscles of the joint.

"Yeah." Aaron pulled a face "I wasn't fighting in my sleep was I?"

"Nope, you just spent the night lying on it so it'll sting for a while but you'll live." Jackson smiled.

"But it really hurts, Jay." Aaron whined pathetically before suggesting with a mischievous smile "Kiss it better?"

Jackson cast his eyes up as he brought the wrist upwards and kissed the inside of it "Better?"

"Mmm, dunno. Might need to try again."

Jackson cocked an amused eyebrow before kissing further down the wrist, this time keeping eye contact with Aaron as he did so "What about now?"

"Meh, I think I might just need something stronger." Aaron smirked.

This was all the invitation Jackson needed. Abandoning the wrist he crawled over so that he was atop of his husband and crashed their lips together. Aaron responded in kind; fingers grasping at his husband's hair and legs wrapping around his waist. Jay teasingly rolled his hips forward, causing a grunt of approval to escape from Aaron's mouth and for stirrings to occur down below.

Aaron felt fit to kill him when he suddenly broke off from the kiss to stare down at his aroused husband with a smirk "So, did you miss me?"

Aaron stared at him like he'd gone mad "What?"

"Last night when I was at the meeting. Did you miss me?"

An infuriated Aaron was about to come out with a devastating put-down when Jay suddenly started to nip, kiss and suck at that part of his neck where he was most sensitive. Aaron couldn't disguise his guttural groan which was made all the worse by another tantalising roll of his husbands hips against him.

"Do I have to ask again?" Jay murmured against his neck.

One more time would kill him. "God, I missed you baby." Aaron groaned huskily, giving Jackson his cue to stop playing with him and get serious.

However they had barely started getting busy when they were interrupted by the shrill sound of the doorbell. With a moan Aaron got up and trudged to the window dressed in only his boxers to determine who their early visitor was. If it wasn't anyone important they could damn well sod off and call back later when Aaron didn't have better things (or people) to do.

He had to squint at first to make out the figure at their front door but once it turned slightly in his direction his eyes widened in startled surprise; it was Vanessa. Vanessa didn't seem to have noticed him as she was too busy smoothing her hair down with one hand and checking her reflection in a compact mirror with the other. Under her arm she held a few files almost carelessly; Aaron would bet anything that they would act as the rubbish excuse for why she would _urgently _need totalk to Jay this morning.

Well, Aaron quite simply wasn't going to give the cheeky bitch that chance. With an amused smirk he turned from the window and bent to pick up a shirt and jeans from the floor.

"Not someone we can ignore, no?" Jackson grumbled, annoyed that their moment had been disturbed.

Aaron smiled at his bare-chested husband and as he finished dressing came to his side of the bed "Can't really make out who it is so I'll just check to be safe. In the meantime…" he dipped his head in for a quick soft but sensual kiss "You just wait here and I'll be back as soon as I get rid of them."

As Aaron reached the bottom of the stairs he slyly slipped the jeans off and discarded them. Next he hurriedly undid a few of the buttons on the shirt he was wearing and as he did so his peevish grin widened as he realised he had accidently slipped on Jay's shirt from the meeting. Bonus!

Just as the doorbell rang a second time Aaron put the finishing touches to his appearance by quickly using a hand to rustle through his hair. Satisfied with his dishevelled image he opened the door just as Vanessa's finger rested on the doorbell for the third time.

Vanessa's cheery smile dropped completely from her face to be replaced with a scowl as she took in the sight of a smirking Aaron Walsh wearing only boxers and a rather ruffled half done-up shirt. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed that that particular shirt belonged to his other half upstairs; she had seen him wear it in the office only yesterday.

Aaron adopted an innocent look "Can I help you?"

She however wasn't in the mood for civility "Where is he?" she snapped.

Aaron feigned confusion "Who?... oh, you mean Jackson? My husband, Jackson? He's just upstairs in our bed. He's not really in the mood for visitors if you catch my drift, you kind of called at a bad time. We're a bit busy." He tried to fake a look of embarrassment but failed as his taunting smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"If you're trying to get at me it's not working!" she hissed.

Aaron blinked as though oblivious to what she was talking about "Now why would I want to get at you, Vanessa?"

"Because you're a smug, childish, jealous moron that's why!" she snarled.

Aaron couldn't stop the mocking chuckle escaping his mouth as he smirked at her "Smug, definitely. Childish, hmmm sometimes I'll admit but _jealous_? What exactly have I got to be jealous of you for? You may have some top-notch billionaire waiting on hold back at the office ready to sign a few papers but me…" he flicked his tongue suggestively across his bottom lip "…I have a drop-dead gorgeous man waiting for me in my bed. And fuck me, he _is_ gorgeous…"

To rile her up just that bit more Aaron dramatically shut his eyes and inhaled deeply "…oh God Vanessa you'd want to see his body. It's so fucking perfect I almost feel bad that I'm the only one who gets to see it and touch it…"

"You're pathetic." She growled disgustedly "You are so beneath him and the sooner he realises that the better!"

Aaron snickered lightly in amusement "Oh but he likes me being beneath him. I find myself beneath him quite often actually. As for being pathetic…" his tone grew more serious "…I'm not the one out trying to steal someone else's man, love. Do us all a favour pet and join a dating site or something; find yourself a bloke of your own instead of trying, rather stupidly, to take mine. We all know that only one person is going to end up in tears at the end of this and it won't be me."

Before she could answer they both heard a call from upstairs "Aaron? Everything alright, babe?"

Without hesitating Aaron replied cheerfully "Everything's fine, baby! Be back to you in a minute!" Turning back to the scornful woman at his door he let out an exaggerated sigh "He doesn't like me keeping him waiting. As charming as this chat was I have to go; I have a rather bigsomething to take care of."

He was greatly entertained as he saw her face turn beetroot just before he shut the door in her face. He then bounded gleefully back up the stairs, delighted he had had his bit of fun with that crazy cow and now the real fun could begin.

As he re-entered the bedroom Jackson pushed himself into a sitting position and chuckled "Bit enthusiastic this morning, are we?"

Aaron frowned slightly "Huh?"

Jay motioned at his partners attire "Well the jeans seem to have taken a hop and your shirt is…" his smile brightened as he realised "Well actually _my _shirt is very nearly hanging off you."

Aaron smiled in relief before purring "Saves a bit of time." With that he hopped back onto the bed and playfully straddled his husband's waist, winding his arms around his neck while Jay wrapped his around his partner's waist. Aaron grinned as he let his eyes skim over his other half's well-structured torso and handsome face; if that tramp thought for one second that Aaron was sharing this with her she was well and truly off her head.

He could feel one of his husbands' hands creeping up the back of his shirt and the other teasingly playing with the waistband of his boxers; clearly Vanessa was the furthest thing from his mind.

"You were away a while, who was at the door?" he murmured.

Aaron shook his head "Nobody important but it took a few minutes to get away. Anyway, forget it…" he dipped his head to begin a wet trail up to Jackson's left ear "… where were we?"

"Mmmm" Jackson made a pleased noise as he felt his husband's talented lips and tongue trail their way along his jawline "If I remember right this incredibly gorgeous man was about to have his wicked way with me, sound about right?"

Aaron smirked and pulled back "Top of the class, Mr Walsh." With that he crashed their lips together in a passionate kiss while Jackson's hands travelled further under his shirt. When they came back down to settle on Aaron's hips Jackson broke away from the kiss "Think I should get rid of these?" he grunted sultrily, tugging at the boxers.

Aaron nodded "They go, but the shirt stays."

Considering how unbelievably sexy Jay found his partner in his half-buttoned, crumpled shirt, he had no problem with this compromise.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Ok lads, ask me another."

The four boys were slumped around Joseph Conlon's kitchen table revising for upcoming tests. They were getting a good load of these in the recent weeks in preparation for the upcoming exams; teachers referred to them as a source of revision while the students referred to them as a load of bollocks.

Ryan was "studying" history for one of his A levels. "Alright." Joe sighed before flicking through the text book "I'll give you an easy one. Tell me a bit about Catherine of Aragon."

Ryan looked pensive "Give me a minute." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he thought. Finally he guessed "Was she one of the king's wives?"

"Which king?"

"The fat one. He chopped her head off." Ryan looked pleased with his answer.

Joe sighed "Firstly, mate, you'll have to be more specific. You can't just call Henry VIII the fat one. Secondly no, she was his first wife and he divorced her."

Ryan groaned "This is the same guy who had six wives, right? How the hell can they expect you to remember them all?"

"Do you not remember Mr Cole giving us a rhyme to remember what happened to them?" Thomas asked "Divorced, beheaded and died, divorced, beheaded, survived?"

"I must have been sick that day." Ryan replied drily before grunting by way of excuse "Flaming hate the Tudors."

"You said the same thing about the Borgia, the French and American revolutions, Oliver Cromwell, the Vikings, world war one AND two and the middle ages." Joe remarked

"Pack of whiners. A little black plague never hurt anybody." Ryan grinned to show he was joking.

Kay scoffed "You'll never get into Oxford this way, Caulfield."

"I prefer Cambridge anyway." Ryan sniffed.

Thomas snorted "Kay's got a better chance of joining the Russian ballet than you have of ending up in Cambridge."

"You saying I'm thick?" there was a hint of warning to Ryan's tone.

"No, I'm saying you're as lazy as a priest on a Monday."

Ryan simply shrugged carelessly and tilted himself back on the legs of the kitchen chair. Rolling his eyes Joe went on with the study questions "Right, what can you tell us about Adolf Hitler?"

"Right, well once upon a time there was this short-arse wannabe dictator called Adolf. His lust for power first came out of his frustration at having only one ball…"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Ryan was laid back on Kay's bed staring at the ceiling, twiddling his thumbs. At the other end Kay was sitting just watching him thoughtfully; it had previously been arranged that Ryan came around after the study session for a few games on the X-Box but Kay noticed he had barely uttered two words since they got here. He just slumped down and stared into space.

He finally broke the silence "You and the others know I'm not as thick as I make out, don't you?"

Kalum was surprised at the softness of this question "Course we do. Pay no heed to Thomas, he didn't mean what he said about you and Cambridge maliciously…"

"I know he didn't." Ryan smiled "But there's truth in it all the same. Can you honestly see me in a university, Cambridge or otherwise?"

Kay opened his mouth to reply before slowly shutting it. If he was honest he really couldn't see Ryan spending four more years in education.

Ryan nodded "Thought so. But it's ok; I can't see me going either. Not to sound up my own ass but I'm sure if I tried I could probably scrape a place in a course somewhere, but education just isn't for me."

"But what's your plan then, mate?" Kalum wasn't being rude, he was being honest.

Ryan looked troubled for a few seconds before sighing. Pushing himself up slowly he lowered his voice "If I tell you this it doesn't go pass this door. Not a word even to Thomas or Joe just yet, ok?"

Kay slowly reached a hand out to his locker to take a sip of his coffee, feeling he may need it for whatever Ryan was about to tell him. "Go on."

"…I've auditioned for the RADA."

Kalum almost spat his beverage straight back out in shock. If Ryan had said he was planning on being the first person to set foot on the sun he could not have been more surprised. "What?"

"The Royal Academy of-"

"I know what it is Ryan, but really… acting?" he stared incredulously

Ryan shrugged "Why not?"

Kalum must be dreaming. "But mate, you don't act!"

To Kalum's surprise his friend started to flush a little around the cheeks in embarrassment before admitting gruffly "I do. On and off."

Kalum raised an eyebrow "When? What plays?"

Ryan's face was getting redder by the minute "Every few weeks." He mumbled "Different kinds of plays."

"Like…?"

"Mostly small ones in community groups in a town not too far off. I've done parts in Chicago, Les Miserables, Aladdin, Hamlet and Macbeth so far."

If Kalum's eyes got any wider they'd fall out "How in the _hell _have you kept this from everyone?"

"Mum, Adam and Cassie know obviously but I've asked them not to say anything. Good on them, they still haven't. As for you lot…" he coughed meekly "Do you remember all those piano and guitar lessons I had to go to?"

"All that time you were going to plays?"

"Rehearsals and plays." He corrected him sheepishly.

"But how the hell are you now able to play the guitar and piano?"

Ryan snorted as though it were obvious "I've been self-taught in those since I was fourteen. Easy as a Sunday morning. If it's all the same I need to know how to play piano; I'm playing the lead in the phantom of the opera."

Kay blinked as he realised a lot of the plays Ryan had listed beforehand were musicals "Can you sing?"

Ryan blushed "I'm not bad from what I've been told."

"And how good are you at acting?"

"S'pose enough to be asked to attend an audition for the RADA."

He gaped "They _asked _you to audition?"

He nodded modestly "Had a talent scout at the last show I did. Asked me to come if I was interested."

This was quickly turning into the strangest day of Kay's life. Dumbly he asked "How'd the audition go?"

"Don't know yet. I had to read two excerpts of plays in two minutes. I didn't stumble or anything and got it done on time so I'm just hoping they thought me alright."

"And is that really what you want to do as a career? Acting?"

Ryan paused before nodding slowly "Yeah, mate. I know it sounds naff but… there's very few things I'm actually good at, you know? I'm pretty decent at this and it's something I like doing. Getting to slip into someone else's skin, someone else's world; it's an unreal feeling. It's like… electricity. That sounds stupid, I know, but I can't describe it in any other way."

Kalum was silent as he tried to take it all in; this past conversation had made him doubt that he knew Ryan Caulfield at all. Finally he grunted "Well best of luck then, Caulfield."

Ryan looked at him in surprise "You don't think it's ridiculous?"

"Nope." Kalum shook his head "If anything at least you have an idea of what you want to do as a career. Even if it does involve wigs and stage make-up."

Ryan responded by throwing one of his shoes at his friend "Get stuffed, asswipe."

"Now _that's_ more like it!"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Aaron's eyes snapped open in alarm as he heard the sounds of roars down the stairs early on Saturday morning "DAD! DA! COME QUICK YOU NEED TO SEE THIS!"

Aaron hurriedly pulled back the covers and flew down the stairs, pulse quickening in panic "Kay! Kalum what's up? Where are you?"

"I'm in here!"

Aaron came quickly into his son's room where he found no one. Eyes flicking around the room worriedly he caught sight of his son in his bathroom, which had once been a walk-in wardrobe. Coming to his side Aaron anxiously asked "What do I have to see? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong! Check it out!" Kalum was looking gleefully at himself in the mirror and running his hands over his face.

Seeing nothing, Aaron wondered if his lad had accidently whacked his head while getting out of bed "Kay, what am I supposed to be looking at?"

Kalum sighed heavily and grabbed his dad's hand before placing it on his face and dragging it slowly along the skin. At first Aaron could feel nothing but the smoothness of his son's cheek but as it got closer to the chin…

"You got me up out of bed at eight o'clock just to tell me that you've finally grown _stubble_?"

But his teenage son's face was beaming so proudly that Aaron didn't have the heart to be annoyed with him. It was barely noticeable at this early stage and only prickly in some areas but by Kay's reaction one would swear he'd grown a moustache to put Stalin to shame.

"Where's da?" he asked, wanting to pass on the gospel.

"Working early today. Don't worry; you'll be able to tell him your big news later on." Aaron grinned.

"When it grows a bit more will one of you show me how to shave?" Kay asked a bit bashfully; he didn't trust himself to try it first time round on instinct alone after his childhood experience with Jackson's razor.

"Will do." Aaron smiled before asking "Have you told Rosaleigh?"

"Not yet, she'd probably kill me if I woke her up at this hour."

"Nice to see you put your girlfriend's rest above your father's." Aaron snorted before raising a merry eyebrow "And just when are we going to meet the mysterious Rosaleigh?"

Kay's face reddened, not due to the thought of introducing Rosaleigh to his parents but to the memory of how he'd come to meet Rosaleigh's mother earlier that same week;

He'd been over at Rosaleigh's after school just to watch a film. Because both were so busy now with studying for the exams and such he relished small things like this. He especially liked that he could sit up on the sofa with her while they watched the film, that way he could pretend he was… well, he wouldn't say pretend that he was _normal_, because he _was_ normal, but that he didn't have a disability. It wasn't that he was resentful of it but it just felt nice to be able to pretend once in a while.

Rosaleigh enjoyed doing the usual couple-y things during a film; wrapping her arm around Kay's middle and nestling her head against his shoulder, lying with her head on his lap playing with his fingers, lounging back against his chest with his arms around her and entwining her fingers with his. She may not be an over the top girly girl as such but she did enjoy cuddles with her new beau as much as any other teenager. While some lads might find this suffocating Kay didn't mind; it was nice, especially as with him being in a chair most of the time it wasn't something they got to do as often as they'd like.

And of course, there were times when the film got a bit too boring and they were in need of some other form of entertainment. One of these times occurred during this particular week when they were watching a movie which Kay found interesting, Rosaleigh less so. The first hour of it had barely passed when Rosaleigh started fidgeting in her position beside Kalum, who was that engrossed in the film that he didn't notice her arm tightening around his middle nor her head nuzzling closer to his face on his shoulder.

Rolling her eyes as she quickly concluded that all men were indeed stupid she placed a hand on the side of Kay's face and turned it in her direction. A surprised Kalum quickly understood from the look on her face what she wanted and was willing to oblige as with a smile she placed her arms around his neck and went in for a kiss. It started off nice and soft, gradually building into a passionate one; the types of kisses which Kay had never received beforehand, but was very quickly getting used to!

Neither of them heard the front door open and shut, nor did they hear the sound of footsteps approaching the living room door

"Rosaleigh I'm h-"

The two sprang apart as they heard the voice from the doorway. Insides slowly disintegrating into water Kalum peeked over the back of the couch to see an amused looking woman staring at him and a now blushing Rosaleigh

"This must be Kalum, I take it?" she asked simply.

"Erm… yeah, this is Kalum. Kalum, this is my mum." Rosaleigh mumbled.

Well what could he say? "Nice to meet you, Mrs Sawyer." He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Karen is fine, pet." She grinned. She was quite pretty; she had Rosaleigh's hair and smile. In all his discomfort Kay could only feel grateful that it had been her who'd walked in on them and not Scott; while his team mate knew about their relationship Kay believed it might just be a tad awkward for him if he were to barge in on his team captain snogging his sister.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Kalum? I take it Lady Muck here didn't offer you anything." She cocked an unimpressed eyebrow at her flustered daughter

"I was going to make something eventually, it just slipped my mind!"

"Yes, I could clearly see how your mind was more occupied."

Ignoring her daughter's spluttered protests Karen faced Kay once more "Well, can I tempt you? It's spag bol night."

Kalum didn't know how to refuse politely so he found himself earlier than he had expected having dinner with his girlfriend and her mother. Still, the knot in his stomach became ever looser as they talked; to his relief he found that she was perfectly lovely.

He noticed Rosaleigh's father wasn't present; not just at dinner but in all conversation with Rosaleigh. He was itching to ask her about him but decided against it. If it was a sore subject for her then he'd best leave it alone despite how curious he was; after all he had never spoken to her about his own father. His biological one, that is.

Obviously it was a different thing altogether regarding his adoptive parents. Kay wanted her to meet them, he honestly did, but he was never sure of the right time. In saying this given that he'd already met her mother in possibly the worse way ever he doubted if timing would matter much now

"You can meet her whenever you like. I just need to ask her what time suits her."

Aaron's face lit up "That's great! If she wants to leave it until the end of her exams that's fine; I'd just like to meet her before me and your da have to head off."

Kay nodded "She should be cool with that." He turned his gaze back to the mirror and caught his dad looking at him in a strange way "What?"

"Just thinking what a month it's been for you; finally growing bumfluff and introducing a girl to your parents." He smirked. "Aww!"

He ducked as his bemused son chucked a towel at him.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jackson entered the main office at work. It had been a busy day finalising all deals and getting all the paperwork together but finally it was done; the project was now all but completed at last, all they had to do now was mail off the finalising paperwork on Monday.

The end couldn't have come soon enough in Jay's opinion. True, he had enjoyed working on it while it lasted but for various reasons he was grateful to see it come to an end. The main being that he felt he was missing out on a lot of time he could be spending with his husband and son with all the meetings and extra work hours.

The other was down to Vanessa.

He couldn't help but notice that she had been quite tense and edgy this past while. Her temper was constantly on tenterhooks and she spoke in short sharp snaps. For whatever reason she was making Jackson feel uneasy like he was somehow the cause of her rage, he knew that was ridiculous but he really couldn't shake this gut feeling. He was just grateful that after Monday they need not ever see each other again.

He jumped as a figure suddenly emerged in what he had previously thought a deserted office. His heart sunk as he saw who it was

"Jackson." Vanessa nodded by way of greeting

"Vanessa." Jackson forced a smile "How are you?"

"Good, thanks." She leaned back against the side of the desk "Yourself?"

"Fine." He sat down on one of the office chairs as he filed away the documents and attempted to keep small talk going "Just happy this whole monster's being put to bed."

"Oh?"

Jackson, worried he'd said the wrong thing, quickly added "Not that it hasn't been fun, don't get me wrong! It's just the hours it eats up; you know that better than anyone."

"I didn't mind, I had nothing better to do." She murmured smoothly.

Something about her tone made Jackson even more uneasy "Well…" he began putting the files into a desk drawer quicker than necessary "… I guess this is goodbye then."

He was about to add a sympathetic "Unfortunately" at the end but was cut off by "I think we both know that won't be the case, Jay."

His neck hairs stood up and his stomach lurched as he processed that sentence; only one person called him Jay – Aaron. Vanessa using his husband's pet name for him just felt too weird and uncomfortable.

Rising from his chair he mumbled as calmly as possible "What?"

She sauntered her way across the office until she was inches away from him "You know you don't mean that, I know you don't mean that, so why keep denying ourselves?"

Before he could respond to this absurd statement she leaned forward and attempted to place her lips on his. Before they'd been there two seconds Jackson had shoved her off angrily "What the hell do you think you're playing at?"

She looked surprised "Making the first move."

"_The first move_? You know damn well I've a family at home! I'm gay for fuck sake!"

Her patience was starting to wear thin "A _family_? Is that what passes for a family now? I'm offering you everything on a plate and you're worried about your little fuck buddy and teenage lodger?" she sneered "I've met men who were turned for more!"

Jackson saw red "The only thing about me you'll turn is my stomach, you crazy self-centred bitch!"

Her features darkened "You'd want to watch your tone with me, I made your precious building project and I can break it just as easily."

"You can shove your project up your hole!" Jackson snarled "No one fucking talks about my husband and child like that. A lonely, desperate cow like you isn't worth a hair on their heads, you just remember that!"

As her face creased with rage Jackson turned to storm out of the office; intent on ringing Declan to demand he put background checks into his colleagues' mental history in future.

But he barely made it to the door before he felt the whoosh of something sailing through the air behind him and found himself face down on the office floor, vision temporarily turned white and head feeling like hundreds of hands were clawing about inside it trying to break out.

Ears ringing he gazed confusedly back upwards through his slowly adjusting vision to see an almost frothing at the mouth Vanessa wielding a long, steel wrench in her right hand. She had obviously drawn it out of the box at Jackson's desk.

Jackson could feel the trickle of blood running down his neck from his blow to the head as he lay frozen on the ground, unable to move an inch out of pure shock, pain and fear as he stared up at this psychotic woman

She gripped the wrench even tighter as she raised it again and growled menacingly "If I can't have you, I'm going to make sure no one else wants you!"

….TBC

**Didn't take that egg long to crack, did it? On a lighter note at least Kay finally got his facial hair! Plus he was good enough to not bother Rosaleigh with it. Unlike my last bf. At 4 in the morning. MEN. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Aaron started to pull on his overalls for work with a smile on his face. He couldn't get over how excited Kay had been to finally get some facial hair that morning. While he wouldn't say it in front of him, Aaron had found it adorable.

He couldn't wait to finally meet Rosaleigh either. He found that strange in a way considering that he'd always believed that he would dread the day when Kalum started dating as it would be the final sign that their son had completely grown up. But instead both he and Jackson felt ecstatic for him and were eager to meet the young girl they'd heard so much about and who made their son's face light up when he spoke of her. Anyone who did that certainly couldn't be bad in Aaron's books.

He'd been tempted to call Jackson all morning to pass on the news but was wary of disturbing him in case he was in the middle of an important negotiation. He couldn't help but smile as he thought about it; they'd certainly come a long way and had a lot of blessings to count. Both he and Jackson were in high positions at work, they were going to be twenty years married in a month's time, they had a wonderful son who was flying at school, captaining a sport he'd loved since he was seven and had great mates and a girlfriend while still maintaining a strong bond with his parents. Life was good.

He found Kay waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs "Hey, bristle face."

Kalum pulled a face "Funny!"

Aaron threw on a jacket "Sorry to keep you waiting, I would've thought your da would be home by now. I would've gotten dressed sooner if I'd known."

"S'alright, he's probably had his arm twisted to go for a celebratory pint or something." Kalum replied "The project's wrapping up today."

"Still, it's not like him not to call first…" Aaron frowned before quickly shaking it off "Anyway I better get you down to Joe's before he sends out a search party. You need a lift home?"

"No it's ok. Rosaleigh called; she wants me to come to hers for a bit so she can discuss the whole meeting-you-and-da thing…" he coughed embarrassedly "…she's a bit too excited."

Aaron smiled at this "Tell her the feeling's mutual."

As they made their way down the garden path Aaron commented cheerily "I still haven't told your da yet. Can't imagine the look on his face when he finds out."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Mike Walters hopped out of his vehicle with a relieved sigh; the morning had been long and hot and he was grateful that lunch break had come. He would have to spend it poring over some blueprints but after spending three hours carting cement this would feel like a holiday.

He had to stop by "HQ" to pick up the blueprints. He was hoping to encounter Jackson or one of the other lads working at the head of the scheme rather than Ms Sanders; she was as pretty as a porcelain doll but also just as cold and she gave Mike the creeps.

He placed a hand on the door handle and pulled downwards, frowning as it refused to give way; locked. He rapped his knuckles softly on the door only to get no reply. He tried a second time. Silence. With a sigh he pulled out a spare key given to him by Declan in case of emergencies; this may not necessarily be an emergency but the blueprints were important if they wanted to be up and running by Monday.

Unlocking the door he was confused as he found all the lights turned off; usually there would be at least one person holding the fort. Flicking on the light switch he started as he caught sight of a bundle lying on the floor curled up in a foetal position, heaving heavily.

Mike started to tremble with nerves as he realised the figure was human and upon hesitant approach noticed that it was emitting a lot of red fluid which was staining the carpet beneath it. Mike couldn't make out the face as the figure's arms were thrown over it as though trying to defend itself.

With a shaking hand Mike gently poked the side of the figure only to get no response. After another failed attempt he concluded the person to be unconscious and before his nerve failed him rolled the figure unto its back for identification.

As he did so his hands flew up to his mouth; trying to restrain a startled, horrified yell from the sight which lay out before him.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Aaron, phone for you in the office!" Pat called into the garage.

Aaron wiped his oily hands on an old rag and wandered into the office. As he disappeared from sight his two workmates began chatting amongst themselves

"Bet you anything that's the mister."

"More than likely. Though it's strange of him to be calling the landline rather than Aaron's mobile."

"Fair point. Maybe he broke it or lost it."

Their conversation was cut short as they saw Aaron suddenly tear out of the office and out the garage door without a word or a second glance much to their stunned surprise.

Finally one of them muttered "I don't like the look of this…"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Kalum was sat in Joe's room playing the X-Box. Normally Joe would have had rugby practice but was temporarily on the bench due to a sprained ankle from tripping while skipping at boxing. Kay thought it odd that after so many years boxing Joe had made such an amateur mistake but of course didn't comment on this.

"So, they're finally going to meet her then?"

"Yeah." Kalum muttered

"Nervous?" he noted

"Kind of." Kalum admitted "It's not like I don't want her to meet them or vice versa or anything like that, I'm just hoping it goes well. In saying that it couldn't go any worse than how I met her mum!"

Joe chuckled "Well then I'd suggest that on the day the pair of you should keep the tonsil-hockey to a minimum."

"Aye, aye, cap'n." Kay grinned. He thought it strange that Joe himself hadn't a girl on the scene; Thomas had been going with Jade for a good while, Kalum himself was now seeing Rosaleigh and Ryan… well, Ryan was Ryan. A sniper probably wouldn't take him out. But Joe was a handsome, athletic, friendly lad who could have his pick of girls.

Kay decided to call him out on this "So… has anybody caught your eye recently, Conlon?"

Joe suddenly froze and Kalum got his answer. Gleefully he gave his friend a nudge "Go on, who is it?"

"Don't want to talk about it, Kay." Joe grunted bluntly. Kalum was taken aback by his gloomy tone "Alright mate, sorry."

"Nah, don't be sorry." Joseph sighed, running a hand through his hair before looking thoughtful. He began softly "Okay, but if I tell you it doesn't go past this room. Thomas already knows but whatever you do, don't tell Ryan! Not yet anyway. You know what he's like."

Kalum nodded slowly, not questioning his request. After a long pause Joe began "Right, well it's…"

He was cut off by the sound of his door opening; both turned their heads to see Colleen Conlon in the doorway, looking a bit pale.

"Everything ok, mam?" Joseph asked concernedly.

She ignored her son's question and with a calm and controlled voice said "Kalum, pet, I'm afraid you have to go. Something's happened back at home."

Kalum's eyes widened in alarm "What? What's happened?"

She seemed to be searching for the best way to phrase it, but finding none went on in the calmest way she could manage

"Your da's in hospital, sweetheart. He's been attacked. I'm sorry."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo xo

Kalum opened the ward door a notch before peeking in; the ward was a private one and he could see Aaron seated heavily in a chair with his back to him, holding the limp hand of his father tightly in his. Kalum opened the door fully and made his way in slowly, startling Aaron who twisted his head around.

"Dad." Kalum greeted.

"Kay." Aaron momentarily let go of his husband's hand and approached, gripping his son in a hug. Kalum hugged back tightly, needing comfort as well as wanting to provide his dad with some.

Once Aaron pulled away Kalum could clearly see his face; it was ashen and sickly pale and while his eyes weren't crying they were full of pain and fear. It frightened Kay a bit to see his dad who was usually so strong and able to do anything now looking like a scared child.

"How is he?"

Aaron blinked away tears as he motioned his head to the right. Kalum approached the side of the hospital bed and as he did so his breath caught in his throat; he hadn't previously been able to see his father's face from the door but now that he could he was horrified.

Jackson was lying on the bed with his eyes shut, unconscious but breathing. He wasn't hooked up to any machines other than a heart monitor which both Kay and his dad chose to take as a good sign. However it did little to comfort either of them as the amount of visible physical damage shook them to their very foundations:

Jackson's face was a complete mess of large open wounds and dark bruises, his lip busted and dried blood around the corners of his mouth and beneath his nose. Some parts of the face were swelling already and the most distinct damage of all concerned the area around his eyes which were a rich dark purple. To top it all off the paramedics had given his head a buzz cut so as to examine the lacerations and bruises which also donned Jackson's scalp. Should his chest and back have been visible they could have seen the further bruising but for now they'd seen more than enough.

In silence Aaron resumed his position at the head of the bed and gripped hold of his husband's hand. His eyes began refilling with tears as he brought it to his lips and kissed the knuckles before holding the hand against his face.

Kalum didn't know what to say as his gaze switched from a worried-sick Aaron to an unconscious, badly injured Jackson. His mind had so many questions that needed answers

"Who?" he croaked hoarsely "Why?"

Aaron shook his head sorrowfully "We don't know, mate. We won't know until your da wakes up."

Aaron's own mind was hurting with the amount of emotions and thoughts running through it. The sense of foreboding which had been lingering over him for weeks now had finally come to a climax that day when he had taken that call at work to tell him his husband had been seriously hurt in an attack, and despite knowing by the tone of Declan's voice that the damage was critical nothing could have prepared him for the shock upon seeing it.

He was ninety per cent certain he knew who had done it. While ten per cent of him was sceptical over her actual physical ability to cause so much damage to a full-grown man the rest of him firmly believed that this black widow was more than capable of such destruction. Madness after all was a powerful thing.

And if he ever gets hold of her, he's going to make her wish she'd never set foot in Emmerdale.

Nothing much was said in the hours afterwards; Hazel arrived shortly after Kalum and joined them in their silent vigil at the bedside. Finally at eight o'clock a nurse came in "I'm sorry but I'll have to ask you all to leave; we need to tend to Mr Walsh's wounds."

Aaron hesitated as he felt unable to take his gaze off his husband "There's no way I can stay with him?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. Regulations and all that."

Aaron wanted to argue but at this stage all his energy was drained. Sighing he grunted "Can we have a minute?"

"Very well; you can have ten."

"And you'll call if there's any change?"

"Of course."

She left them to say their goodbyes. Hazel rose robotically out of her seat and squeezed her son's hand affectionately before saying in a shaking voice "You stop being so lazy and wake up soon for us, yeah?" She gave his hand a kiss "You better be up by the time I come back or I'll give you a real hiding!"

But her attempt at humour only caused tears to spill from her eyes. Brushing them away hurriedly she croaked "I'll see you again tomorrow, my gorgeous boy."

She knew Aaron would probably want a private moment for himself. She laid a comforting hand on her frozen grandson's shoulder "Kalum, darling? You going to say goodbye?"

Kay paused as though not hearing what she'd said. Trembling, he shook his head slowly "No." he suddenly gripped hold of his father's shoulder and gave him a gentle shake "Da? Daddy? You going to wake up now?" he croaked in a broken voice.

"Kalum…"

"C'mon da, you have to wake up. I've a game next Saturday; you need to go to it. And look…" he put his father's limp hand on his face "…I need you to teach me how to shave and…"

The teenager's voice was cracking as Aaron calmly made his way around the bed

"….Rosaleigh wants to meet you, da. You want to meet her, don't you? You just need to open your eyes." Kay pleaded desperately, tears starting to fall down his face as he shrugged off his grandmother's and dad's hands "Wake up! Please just wake up!"

Aaron gently but firmly loosened Kay's grasp and turned his almost hysterical son around to face him. Stooping he pulled a still babbling Kay into his arms and held him as he vented his grief. Aaron understood his feelings perfectly; he was upset, angry and terrified. Aaron knew this because he was feeling the exact same way but as much as he wanted to cry and scream and shout with grief and rage he knew it was his job as the parent to be strong for Kay. It would do no good if both were to fall to pieces, no matter how tempting it seemed.

Pulling away he looked into Kalum's fear-filled eyes "I know how bad it looks, mate, but try to be strong for your da, ok? You know he wouldn't like seeing you like this."

Kalum nodded glumly "Ok."

"That's my lad." Aaron rubbed his back with a weak smile.

The smile disappeared once Kay and Hazel left the room. Alone with Jackson Aaron perched himself on the side of the bed and gazed at his partner's beaten face, only now letting his own tears fall. He couldn't believe that some sick monster was capable of doing such a thing to his wonderful, loving husband who didn't have a violent or hateful bone in his body.

Aware of the precious limited time he had left he muttered to Jackson's unconscious form "You must be right sick of the inside of hospitals by this stage."

He sighed as he gripped the limp hand beside him "But hey, it wouldn't be us unless something like this happened every once in a while to wreck our happiness, would it?" He managed a smile at this before continuing softly "Anyway, we always manage to get past things like this in the end. You, me and our Kay against the world like it always has been. I promise we'll get through this too."

He noticed he was nearly out of time. Standing up he finished with "We have to go home now but we'll be back first thing in the morning. The first thing I want to see is those brown eyes open, ok?"

Of course he got no answer but he convinced himself that Jackson heard all the same. Bending, he lay a kiss on his husband's battered and bruised lips "'Night, baby. I love you so much."

It took all his willpower to finally let go of his husband's hand and leave the dimly lit room, keeping his eyes on him until the very last moment.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

It was a restless night for both Aaron and Kay, consisting of little else other than tossing, turning and thinking. Kalum had arrived home to find his forgotten mobile full of missed calls and voicemails from a rather peeved girlfriend who Kay had completely forgotten to call to cancel their plans.

Though cold upon answering, Rosaleigh soon changed her tune upon hearing his excuse. Her words of comfort did little to boost his spirits but he was grateful for them all the same.

Aaron lay on his back staring at the ceiling. He'd opted to go to bed despite sleep being a sure impossibility purely for the sake of not unsettling Kay further but was severely regretting this decision; the bed was freezing and lonely as a graveyard with only him in it and it served to only make his heart ache a little more. He tried to drift off in the hope of escaping from this cruel world for a few hours, praying that by this time tomorrow night he would once again have Jackson safe in his arms.

After what felt like five minutes of dozing Aaron was awoken by the sound of his mobile. Despite being exhausted he had crossed the bed in a flash and snapped it up "Hello?"

Kalum, who had also managed to briefly catch some shut-eye, was awoken by a loud shout "KAY! Get up and dressed!"

Kalum's eyes snapped open in alarm and he pushed himself up in bed to see his dad in his doorway, tears streaming down his face. "What's wrong? What's happened?" he panicked, fearing the worst.

Aaron very nearly had to choke the words out "Your father's waking up!"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jackson slowly blinked his eyes for the umpteenth time, vision blurred as the sedate which had been pumped into him the night before started to wear off. His confused frown quickly turned into a grimace as it felt painful to move his face practically at all; as the power of the painkillers slowly began to fade he was feeling sorer by the minute.

But his confusion temporarily distracted him from the pain; where the hell was he? Obviously he could guess by the blurry people walking around in white coats that he was in a hospital, but he had no memory of being brought here at all. Memory still fogged up by the sedate he could only wonder at why was he here and why was he feeling such excruciating pain all over.

He jumped suddenly as he heard the crash of his ward door as it was flung open. Eyes still bleary he hurriedly pushed himself up in panic, ignoring the sharp pangs of pain as he raised his arms to defend himself.

He could only make out a dark figure coming towards him and to his fearful surprise felt arms being thrown around him. Fighting back would be out of the question; a squirrel could knock the stuffing out of him in this condition. However the panic subsided after a split-second of breathing in the scent surrounding the figure, a scent he'd know anywhere

"_Aaron_?" Jackson moaned hopefully.

"Yeah Jay, it's me!" a tearful Aaron replied.

Jackson froze as the sound of his nickname brought the memories of how he came to end up here back with a crash. His vision which had just started to improve now became blurry again with tears as he clutched at his husband for dear life in both relief and overwhelming fear "Aaron!" he sobbed "Aaron!"

"Shhh!" Aaron held him as tightly as was possible without causing him further pain "I'm here, baby, I'm here! You're alright now, nothing else is going to happen to you I promise."

"S-s-s-she took l-l-lumps out of me with a s-s-spanner!" Jackson stuttered, terrified eyes flicking towards the door as though expecting her to crop up any minute.

Aaron's blood ran cold as his suspicions rang true; just to be certain he muttered while rubbing his husband's back soothingly "Who did this, Jackson?"

"….Vanessa." Jackson flinched at the very memory of her but forced himself to go on though it made him feel sick to his stomach "…. She tried to come on to me in the office, I told her where to go, she got angry and-" he stopped and squeezed his bruised eyes shut, unable to continue or stop his hands from trembling.

Aaron felt his eyes fill with fresh tears of both sorrow and anger as he tightened his hold around his partner and laid gentle kisses on his forehead, nose and mouth "I promise you she'll get what's coming to her. She's never ever going to hurt you again."

"Da?"

Jackson turned his head to his right. Vision now fully cleared he could see the pale, worry-stricken face of his teenage lad. His blackened eyes widened comically in shock "You've grown stubble!"

Both his son and husband stared at him for a long moment before bursting out laughing at this out-of-scene comment. Jackson too realised how ridiculous it sounded in this situation and managed a grin, despite it hurting to even smile. He winced slightly as he stuck an arm out to give Kay a hug but he tried hard to ignore the pain; his last worrying thought before he had gone unconscious under the rain of spanner blows was that he was never going to see his family again so words couldn't describe how relieved and grateful he was to see them.

Over the next hour Hazel Jerry and Josh arrived, their nerves put at ease upon seeing Jackson sitting up in bed. He didn't really talk much afterwards, worn out by the sedate and it hurt to move the muscles in his face so he just sat with Aaron's arms around him muttering answers when asked questions. When the police came in to take a statement he came close to breaking down from the shame and pain of the memory but with Aaron's and Kay's support managed to keep it together.

It was only an hour before his visitors had to leave that he built up the courage to ask to see what damage had been done. Thankfully the doctors had discovered nothing life-hindering; a couple of bruised ribs at worst as Jackson's arms had cushioned most of the blows to his head. The obvious bruising to his face and body would heal eventually and perhaps leave some scarring behind but that was it.

Jackson was silent as he stared at his contorted image in a mirror, facial expression blank and giving away no emotion though he was very quiet afterwards. It was only when visiting hours were up that he spoke. The others had said their goodbyes and left, leaving only his husband and son "We'll be back to take you home tomorrow da, yeah?"

He grinned "Yeah, mate. And hey, do me a favour?"

"What's that?"

"Get a good night's sleep and don't be worrying about me, ok? Your exams are more important than an old codger like me. No more days off school after tomorrow."

Kay chuckled "Alright, boss."

"Love you, son."

"Love you too."

Kay left the room to give them a moment. Aaron reluctantly rose from his seat on the side of the hospital bed and leant in to give Jackson a kiss "This time tomorrow you'll be back in our bed. Just one more sleep."

It pained Jackson to see Aaron gazing at him so tenderly, so lovingly. How on earth could he bring himself to even look at him in the state he was in?

"I'll see you in the morning." Aaron gave him a final kiss "I love you."

Jackson blinked away tears "I love you too."

However as Aaron turned to walk away Jackson couldn't hold it in anymore. "Please don't leave me."

He sounded so forlorn and desperate, like a lost child. Aaron quickly turned "I have to, baby, but I promise I'll be back before you even have time to open your eyes in the morning."

He noticed the fear in his husband's eyes and approached, taking hold of his hand "If you're worried about _her _there's no need to be. The police are scouring the place for her and if she comes so much as within a mile of us I'll make her wish she was never born!"

He saw tears start to spill from the bruised brown eyes and felt his heart break. He sat back down on the side of the bed and took a trembling Jackson into his arms again "What's wrong, Jay? Tell me."

"Please just don't leave me!" Jackson's voice cracked.

"I told you I hav-"

"I don't mean that." Jackson sniffled miserably "I mean please don't leave me because of this! I'm sorry! I never meant for this to happen…"

Aaron was completely gobsmacked as he realised what he meant. Very gently he placed his hands on either side of his husband's face and gave him a quick kiss to silence his babbling. "Now you listen carefully; first of all don't you ever apologise for this! None of this is your fault! Secondly what on earth would make you think I'm going to leave you?"

Jackson closed his eyes as he muttered "She said just before she started pummelling me that if she couldn't have me, she was going to make sure that nobody else would want me. Vanessa was never one to do a sloppy job and this is no exception…" he gestured at his beaten face with a sad grimace

"…. Because who in their right mind would want me now?"

Aaron was struck to his very core as it dawned on him now why the damage seemed to be entirely focused on Jay's face and upper body, leaving the lower region alone. Vanessa Sanders was a cruel, heartless bitch but as cunning and clever as they came.

Shaking his head in disgust he gripped his husband tightly "Well she fucked up that job didn't she?" Jackson looked up and the stunned look on his face made Aaron's heart shatter.

"I want you! I want you more than anything in the whole world and I'm never going to leave you, ever! I love you, you numpty. And if you think a little bruising is going to stop me from doing that then she must have hit you harder with that spanner than we thought!"

Jay's eyes flooded with tears again and Aaron was worried he had upset him with his words. He needn't have worried; "I love you, Aaron."

"I love you too, you daft muppet!"

As Aaron crossed the hospital car park his phone began ringing

"Hello?"

"Mr Walsh? It's detective Harrison. We have news…"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Aaron waited in his living room; arms crossed and fingers drumming as he waited. It had just been over three hours since a shocking revelation given to him by the police had all but floored him and he had made a few phone calls of his own. Kalum by now had gone to bed; he was taking the day off school tomorrow to bring Jackson home but he was so knackered he opted for an early night. Aaron was grateful; he didn't want him to see this.

Finally the doorbell rang and Aaron answered, wordlessly ushering two confused people into the living room.

"So, what's this about?" a muddled Declan Macey asked, never one to cut corners.

"Yes, is there any reason why you have us here at such an ungodly hour?" his business partner slash sister Megan grumbled.

Aaron only kept his gaze trained on them as he began softly "Had a call from the police earlier. They've got her."

Both looked amazed "Already?"

"Found her on a bridge a few miles off throwing some files belonging to the project to the wind. Said she looked a little troubled and upset. Tried jumping once she saw them coming but they got her in the end."

Declan noted his matter of fact tone with a touch of discomfort "That's good, isn't it? You don't sound too thrilled."

"Oh believe me; my biggest disappointment is that they didn't give her a pair of cement shoes and a shove. She's been taken in already."

In the silence that followed Megan haughtily remarked "I believe a phone call would have more than sufficed, Aaron."

"It would if that was why I called you here." Aaron's voice became dangerously low, putting them at immediate unease.

He went on casually "So after this detective Harrison had another bit of interesting info for me. This probably shouldn't have come as a shock to me but it did; Vanessa Sanders is a long-time sufferer of some form of disorder known as bipolar."

He was surprised to see Declan's jaw slack as though this was news to him, whereas Megan didn't look as cocky anymore.

He continued "He gave me a bit of a lesson on the different forms and levels of bipolar disorder. It turns out that "Ms Sanders" suffers from a particularly high level form which includes extremely erratic behaviour, mood swings, delusions and mania due to unrealistic plans for the future…"

"Aaron…" Megan began

"… which can cause the sufferer to take part in risky behaviour, aggressiveness and extreme irritableness which can lead to violence. Now this can be treated with medication which unfortunately Vanessa neglected to take. I couldn't help but wonder why her condition and medication wouldn't be listed on her resumé but oddly enough the detective assured me that it _had _to be…"

"Aaron, please…" Megan pleaded as an oblivious Declan watched on

"….and what a stroke of luck, he had the resumé right in his hand with the condition displayed on it _but_, wait for it, _no medication_!"

Aaron dropped the casual act as he snarled "So in a nutshell, you knowingly let a high level bipolar sufferer who was flat out refusing any medication to work with my husband for weeks on end without saying a word!"

The tense silence that followed was broken by a furious Declan "Is this true?" he snapped at his uncomfortable-looking sister. If Aaron was surprised that Declan appeared dumb to this information he didn't show it.

She tried shrugging it off "She was one of the best in her business sector and came at a reasonable price. There's nothing in the law that prevents a bi-polar sufferer from being employed."

"I bet there is for one who doesn't take any form of medication!" Aaron growled "Or at least an obligation to warn the other workers!"

"Employee confidentiality." She sniffed "What goes on in their personal life is their own business. Rules are rules."

Aaron felt something inside him snap "So that's it then?" he roared "It doesn't fucking matter that my husband was beaten to a bloody pulp and left for dead as long as it complies with your stupid rules? An attack that could've been easily avoided had you just hired an employee with enough fucking sense to take their medication is all just a part of accidents that come with the job now, is it?"

"Look, if you're threatening to charge us with a lawsuit…"

"_Lawsuit?_" Aaron laughed mockingly "My husband could have _died _yesterday and you think getting a fucking lawsuit out of you is my top priority? No amount of money would ever be able to compensate if I lost Jackson. No, I'm tempted to just leave the charging to the police."

Declan and Megan gaped at his grim, damning words "What the hell do you mean?"

"I'm sure they'll all be interested in finding out just what goes on behind the scenes in the Macey company."

"Aaron I swear I had no idea!" Declan stammered while Megan snapped "You can't do this!"

"Just feel lucky I haven't done it already!" Aaron growled before turning his back to them "Now get out of my house."

"Aaron-"

"GET OUT!" Aaron shouted, making it clear that their conversation was over.

The pair slunk out the door and Aaron could hear the furious raised voice of Declan as they stormed away. He slumped down onto the sofa and rested his head in his hands, unsure of whether Jackson would approve of his actions and feeling somewhat guilty as he realised that he might have been just as bad himself for not warning Jackson sooner.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jackson shut his eyes contentedly as he lay back in his own bed. He may not feel physically any more comfortable here than in his hospital bed but no place really did compare to home.

With eyes still closed he heard his other half come in from their en suite and hop into bed beside him. He opened his eyes as he felt an arm slip around him and tensed. Aaron, unaware of this reaction, started chatting softly "You happy to be home?"

"Yeah, over the moon."

Aaron couldn't help but notice that his tone seemed less than enthusiastic. He wondered if he was angry with him about their conversation earlier regarding what Aaron had done the night before and also an admittance of his locking horns with Vanessa weeks earlier. Needless to say Jackson hadn't been happy with either of these confessions but took into account that in both situations Aaron had acted out of belief that he was doing right by his husband. Maybe he was secretly more annoyed than he was letting on, despite Aaron even promising to not go to the police to save getting Declan into trouble for his sister's mistake. Declan was a harsh disciplinarian in his own right anyway so Aaron was satisfied knowing Megan wouldn't get out of this scot-free.

He tried "You ok?"

"Yeah fine, just completely knackered." Jackson yawned.

Aaron smiled "Alright then I'll let you sleep. Goodnight." But he was shocked to find upon leaning in for his usual goodnight kiss that Jackson jerked his face away almost violently. "Jay, what the hell?"

Jackson remained silent, looking both sheepish and ashamed, avoiding his husband's eyes.

Aaron wasn't just going to let this slide "Jackson, what's really wrong? Tell me the truth."

"Noth-"

"Bullshit! Or do I need permission to kiss my own husband now?"

Jackson sighed in defeat "How does _this _not repulse you? I can't even look at myself in the mirror; I don't like to think that you have to force yourself to pretend I look fine. Don't lie to me, Aaron; even you can't say it doesn't look horrible. The scars were one thing but _this_? I look like something out of a fucking horror film. That psycho cow did exactly as she promised and despite everything she's still won!"

"That psycho cow could've smashed your teeth out and obliterated half your face and it wouldn't have made a rat's arse difference to me!"

Jackson was struck by the indescribable sentiment in Aaron's statement. Finally making eye contact with his husband he could see hard, glittering tears of frustration in his eyes "Yes Jackson, the damage done is bad. I'll never be able to deny that it is. But do you know what? Black eyes, cuts, bruises and all I still think you're the most gorgeous bloke in the world."

Jackson stared at him incredulously as he went on "Yes, I know you're going to say I'm blinded. I _am _blinded. But the reason for that is because I love you so fucking much that a bit of blood and damaged tissue makes sweet FA difference to how I see you! It's the exact same with Kalum; I heard him talking to you earlier about his game coming up. He wants you to be there. What's more he wants you to meet his girlfriend for God's sake! Does that sound like someone who's disgusted by what you look like?"

Jackson now had his head bowed so Aaron couldn't see his expression. Aaron lay a hand on his shoulder and spoke softly "You think she's won but she hasn't. She really hasn't. All of this-" he gestured at the bodily harm "-will heal eventually. You might be left with more scars to add to your collection but you'll still have your friends, your job and your family who love the bones of you. You have everything Vanessa Sanders will never have and I promise you're never going to lose any of them, Jay."

He could see moisture dripping from his husbands eyes and he worriedly pulled him close to him "I'm so sorry, Aaron." Jackson mumbled into his shoulder "I should've known you wouldn't… I'm being so stupid, I'm sorry!"

"It's ok." Aaron ran a hand gently over the prickly hairs of his army cut "You're allowed to be wrong occasionally." He smirked "Though one thing I can't get over is this haircut; I thought we agreed years ago that skinheads were my thing!"

Jackson laughed before pulling away slightly "I'd still like to make up for being such a prat. Is there anything I can do?"

Aaron looked pensive before nodding and surprising Jay by carefully removing his t-shirt and pushing him gently back onto the mattress before hovering above him

"Aaron…" Jackson began but stopped as Aaron began to place soft kisses along his head and face, missing none of the cuts and bruises. He continued down his neck and along his chest and stomach again leaving no blemish neglected; even paying attention to the scars that had been a part of Jackson's body for years.

Jackson was thoroughly enjoying this though part of him worried; the doctor had warned them off certain activities for a couple of weeks to give his ribs time to heal. He wondered if Aaron had forgotten this.

"Aaron…"

"Yeah, baby?" Aaron looked up.

"…. I can't. Doctor said."

Aaron nodded "I know. That's not what I'm doing. Just let me love you, alright?"

Jackson smiled brightly, ignoring the pain. He obediently turned over for Aaron to do his back, which had taken quite a few kicks as well as blows. Still as though by magic the pain seemed to lessen once Aaron made his way over it.

Just then Jackson remembered something he'd forgotten to tell Aaron earlier. "Aaron?"

"Mmm?"

"You'll never guess how I figured out she had a thing for me."

"Hmmm did it have something to do with her beating the crap out of you so no one else could have you?"

Jackson chuckled "That came afterwards. No, she called me "Jay"."

He sensed Aaron pausing above him and heard a scoff "Daft bitch. You're _my_ Jay." Jackson felt tender kisses being place along the back of his neck "My Jay. No one else's."

Jackson nodded in agreement, feeling fit to burst with happiness as he felt so safe, wanted and loved "I love you, my Aaron."

"I love you too."

…..TBC

**Was tempted to drag it on for another chapter but I'm going to be busy this next week and I didn't want to keep you waiting. Anybody up for a happy chapter next time?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Apologies for delay, week has been busy. Long chapter but hope you like.**

**Chapter 7**

_June_

"Jay? Jaaaay? Jackson!"

Jackson's groggy eyelids flickered open as he heard his name being called at what sounded like a distance. He heard the voice again only closer this time; "Hey Jay, wake up."

The voice was demanding but soft. As the worst of the sleepiness passed Jackson noticed he was lying with his head on Aaron's chest and arms and legs wrapped around him like a monkey. He felt a hand resting on the small of his back, stroking the end of the long scar that ran along his spine "You awake, baby?"

Jackson looked up to see the face of his husband gazing down at him tenderly "I am now, what's wrong?"

"I just need you to budge over a bit; your right knee is coming too close for comfort against the general and the colonels!"

"Oh right, sorry." Jackson slid off his husband. He was never usually this clingy in his sleep but since his little scuffle a few weeks earlier he had been experiencing a lot of flashbacks and nightmares and instinctively tended to cling to whatever made him feel safest. Aaron had been brilliant and helped get him through them all, holding him when they occurred and soothing him back to sleep no matter how many times he woke him up. Of course Aaron wouldn't admit that he also found some comfort in cradling his husband; it reassured him to know that his partner was safe, secure and alive in his arms.

His move to his own side of the bed was made pointless as Aaron scooted over and placed his arms around him once more "I didn't say you had to move completely." He snuggled his head into the crook of Jay's neck "I was comfy there."

Jackson grinned as he wrapped his own arms around his husband "Just thought I was making you too warm; you spent most of last night bitching about the heat."

Aaron shrugged "It's never too warm for this." All the same he lazily kicked the duvet off the pair of them before tangling his legs once again with his husband's. Jackson shook his head fondly; only Aaron would spend half the night tossing and turning and grumbling about the hot weather and then in the morning want to cuddle. Awkward sod that he was.

Still Jackson would never be one to complain about this. Tightening his arms around him and placing a kiss on his forehead he muttered "Your army troops still okay down there?"

"Hmm I dunno, maybe later on you should give them an inspection. Put them through their boot camp stages to make sure they're still fit for action." Aaron smirked mischievously. Jackson chuckled with a raised eyebrow "Do I need to be in full uniform for it?"

"Most definitely. In fact I think we still have that old costume lying around." Jackson could practically see a spark dancing in the centre of Aaron's eyes as the memory of his partner dressed as a soldier one New Year's Eve passed through his mind.

Jackson smirked "Sir, yes, sir!" he playfully rubbed noses with his smiling husband. "You even have the haircut to match now." Aaron muttered fondly, running a hand gently over the prickly hairs of his husband's army cut.

Jackson had healed extraordinarily well over the course of weeks; his ribs were fine and most of his minor cuts and bruises were now gone. His worst bruises had gradually lost their darkness and most were now a shade of red or yellow. His stitches had been removed and the swelling had gone down completely. As suspected a few little scars had been left on his face and in places on his chest, back and scalp but the doctors had done such a great job they were barely noticeable. Of course his hair was taking it's time growing back to its original state but this couldn't be helped. Besides Aaron was finding glee in the belief that once it did grow back it would bring some greys with it, so Jay figured maybe the delay wasn't such a bad thing.

This reminded Aaron "Her trial's on today."

Jackson froze. Aaron snuggled closer to him comfortingly "You sure you don't want to go?" he asked gently. Jackson nodded; he'd seen more of this woman in both reality and in his dreams than he'd ever need to see again. Though he wouldn't say it out loud the thought of seeing her again in the flesh turned his very senses numb and his insides to water; it took a lot to scare Jackson Walsh and it made him feel ashamed to think that his deepest fear was of a _woman_.

Aaron nodded understandingly "Okay." Jackson had already given a statement, photographs had been taken of the damage and all the evidence was there so there wasn't a snowman's chance in hell that that bitch would get off anyway. As much as he wished he could be there to see her face when she got sent down he respected Jackson's wishes; his happiness was more important to Aaron than anything else.

Jackson gratefully gave him a kiss "Besides, we have bigger fish to fry. We have a guest coming over tonight, remember?"

Aaron nodded reverently "Oh yes, and an even bigger trial to face!"

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Later on that day they were out picking up bits and pieces for dinner. Normally on a Saturday night they'd just bang something in from the freezer or order a take-away but as they had rather important company that night they had to make a good first impression, and both mutually agreed that frozen shepherd's pie wasn't the way to go about it.

Aaron noticed on the drive home Jay was rather quiet in himself; saying little and gazing off into space. He hoped he wasn't coming down with something or having another crisis of confidence; the number of nosy-parkers who'd stared at him whenever he went out had lessened since the bruising had begun to fade but there was still the occasional child who wanted to know why his eyes were black and his head shaved.

Finally Jay muttered softly "What time is it?"

"Four seventeen, why?"

Jay remained silent momentarily before grunting "Would we have time to make a detour before we head home?"

"….Where?"

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"Your house is really nice!"

Kay smiled as Rosaleigh considerately looked around his living room. Despite being together almost three months now she had never been to his house before. There wasn't any real reason for that other than convenience; her house had simply been closer than his.

"It does ok; keeps the rain off doesn't it?"

She was dressed really nice for the occasion; not too casual but not too smart either. Despite his protests that his parents wouldn't care if she turned up in a potato sack she had tormented him for hours on end with endless questions of "Does this look alright? Is this too formal? Does this make me look like I'm trying too hard?" Finally just before Kay had started to have dark thoughts of whether it was acceptable to split up with someone on the day they were meant to meet the parents she had made her mind up once and for all.

"Awww how cute were you?"

Kay saw that she had now noticed the many photos on the cabinet and mantelpiece and was studying them with a smile. A particular photo of a five year-old Kalum had caught her attention; in the image he had a saucepan on his head, two wooden spoons in his hands and was surrounded by other pots and pans, beaming proudly at the camera.

He scoffed "What do you mean _were_? I'm still cute!"

She rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's humour as she continued looking at the photos. There was all the milestone photos of Kalum on his own; birthdays, first day at primary and secondary school, first basketball match and such. All were adorable but the photos that really stood out for her were the ones including his parents, from those she could conclude that they were indeed a close family. It helped settle her a bit; whether Kay knew it or not she was rather nervous about meeting them for the first time.

She heard him clear his throat behind her "I don't mean this in a creepy sense but do you want to head into my room?"

She chuckled as she turned to face him "Are you trying to seduce me, Kalum Walsh?"

Kay's face reddened as he tried to play it cool "No, but if I was it'd hardly take much trying; I mean look at this face!"

She snorted as she made her way into his room, affectionately pulling his beanie down over his eyes as she passed. Kalum grinned "Want anything to drink?"

"Coke, please!" she called back. While Kay worked away in the kitchen she observed the surroundings of his room; messy in places like most teenage boys' rooms but not as bad as expected. She let her eyes wander over the posters donning the walls and the various objects and awards scattered over the shelves until they finally came to rest on the photos on his locker.

She caught sight of the most aged-looking one and smiled fondly; that had to be his mum. She was the very double of Kalum with the exact same eyes, nose and mouth twisted in the very same smile. Her hair was a little darker and obviously her features more feminine but there could be no denying Kay was hers.

She noticed there wasn't a photo of his biological father to be found anywhere and couldn't help but wonder why that was. Kalum had never brought his real father up in conversation nor said anything about his fate so she presumed him to be also dead. Maybe it simply hurt Kay too much to talk about him.

She felt warmth rise in her as she noticed a photo of the pair of them also decorating the locker. It was a cute one; Kalum had fallen asleep while watching a film at hers and she had drawn on his face, including a dark moustache and beard to make up for his then lack of facial hair. Once he'd woken up Kay had gotten his own back by pulling her into an unexpected kiss, Rosaleigh realising too late that this caused imprints of her handiwork to be left on her own face. Both had seen the funny side and Kay had captured the moment on his phone camera, the pair of them covered in ink and smiling.

As she went to pick up the photo for a better look she accidently knocked something off the locker on to the floor. Bending hurriedly she picked up what appeared to be a black, leather-backed book. As she went to put it back it fell open onto a page and its contents took her breath away.

She was still dazedly flicking through the book when she heard a stern "What are you doing?"

Her head flicked up and she felt a flicker of guilt as Kalum stared at her with wide eyes, looking somewhere between stunned and annoyed.

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"You don't have to do this you know."

Jackson hesitated as though considering this but forced himself to shake his head "I need to. It's the only way of putting this to bed once and for all."

Aaron wasn't sure about that but he knew better than to try and dissuade Jay once his mind was made up. "Alright." He sighed "But if it all gets too much for you just let me know and we'll leave right away, ok? Nobody will judge you."

Jackson smiled weakly "Ok."

As they ascended the staircase Aaron took hold of Jay's hand, squeezing it comfortingly. Jackson was grateful; he'd wanted to grip hold of his husband's hand the second they'd passed through those big, heavy doors but was worried Aaron would think him a wuss. He was also thankful for Aaron's support if he felt like backing out; right now there was nothing he would like to do more but if he ran away from this now, he'd always be running from it.

A number of eyes fixed on them as they entered the upper gallery, some staring out of curiosity, some popping with realisation. This frustrated Aaron as this was tough enough already for Jay without a load of speculative prats gawping at him. They sat in the front row, Aaron deliberately taking the outer seat to shield Jay from his over-curious audience, and listened in for the final few minutes

"…. to summarise; the defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm to the plaintiff and neglect of taking prescribed medication while operating in the work environment, not guilty to one count of attempted murder, and has made a plea for temporary insanity."

Aaron barely heard the next few words as his hackles rose dangerously and his blood boiled. That _bitch _actually had the gall to make an insanity plea as part of her defence! Jackson appeared to have been hit hard by these words too, hands involuntarily beginning to tremble as they gripped the rail. Aaron wordlessly laid a hand over one of them, stroking it soothingly though part of himself worried. There was no way she could be let off with an insanity plea, it just couldn't happen, not after everything. Life wasn't that cruel.

As the judge finished speaking he caught sight of the pair in the gallery. With an acknowledging nod he returned to his melancholic defendant "The plaintiff is here. Is there anything you wish to say before we pass sentence, Ms Sanders?"

As Vanessa Sanders' cold, emotionless eyes met Jackson's for the first time in weeks Jackson started to feel cold sweat break out over him and his breathing start to dip as he began suffering a flashback. The courtroom and people in it all disappeared as all he could see was those icy eyes glaring down at him as blow after blow connected with his flesh…

Jackson was pulled back out from that distressing scene by the feel of a hand gripping his own tightly but lovingly, fingers lacing with his. He opened his eyes just in time to see her shake her blond head "No, your Honour."

"Very well." He gave Jackson a sympathetic look "Do you have any comment, Mr Walsh?"

Jackson simply shook his head, unable to bring himself to speak in case he broke down. Only for Aaron he would have turned and left already but his partner kept him strong, he had to see the rest of this through lest it haunt him forever.

The jury didn't take too long to make a decision "Ms Sanders this court of law finds you guilty on counts of grievous bodily harm and attempted murder and your plea for temporary insanity is dismissed based on your own admission of knowingly failing to administer your prescribed medication for high level bipolar disorder. Based on this I hereby sentence you to seven years. Taking your mental condition into account I shall lower it to five, with regular psychiatric analysis every six months. Your careless and selfish actions put an entire workforce at risk and almost cost the life of one of your co-workers. I'm afraid I can offer you no sympathy." With that he banged the gavel "Case closed."

Vanessa showed no emotion as she was escorted down the aisle; face blank as a canvas as she tried to retain what little dignity she had left. Just before she left she directed her gaze towards the gallery, towards the two people who had just torn her life to shreds.

This time Jackson didn't flinch; instead he calmly held her gaze, face betraying none of the mess of nerves he felt inside of him. This was it, he'd done it. No more fear.

Aaron glared hatefully back at her and slowly, deliberately gripped Jackson's hand tighter on the rail just to see the annoyance on her face before she was led out of sight. He wanted her to see that her plan had failed miserably, that Jackson still was more loved and wanted than she could ever hope to be and that there was nothing she could've done to tear them apart. She had now seen that she was left with nothing while Jay still had everything.

He mused over this with grim satisfaction as they made their way silently back to the car; despite the courts findings he somehow doubted that Sanders had gone for full-on murder. Based on what Jackson said it seemed more that she wanted to keep Jackson alive just for the pleasure of hopefully driving a wedge between him and Aaron over Aaron's disgust of Jay's appearance. However Aaron certainly wasn't going to lose sleep over this little piece of untold information; as far as he was concerned she had gotten off lightly enough as it was.

Once they got back in the car Aaron turned to say something before slowly shutting his mouth as he saw Jackson almost furiously wiping away relieved, grateful tears.

Deciding it was better to leave the court discussion until later Aaron leaned across to pull his husband into a hug, massaging his neck. "I'm so proud of you." He mumbled against Jackson's shoulder, to which Jackson replied with a sniff "I love you, Aaron."

"I love you too."

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Kalum had been silent for a bit. Once Rosaleigh had briskly placed the book back on his locker he had wordlessly hauled himself up on his bed, looking more embarrassed than angry though Rosaleigh couldn't be too sure.

She herself was perched on the other end of the bed, picking at the duvet anxiously with eyes averted, not sure what she should say. She could clearly see that Kay wasn't too happy with her prying through his personal belongings but she still couldn't understand why he had kept something like this from her.

Finally she brought herself to speak "You mad at me?"

Kalum sighed "No. I probably would've shown you anyway eventually so I guess you might as well have seen it now."

"I should hope you'd want to share something like this with me!" she chided gently, trying to lighten the mood once more.

It worked as Kay smiled "I kind of haven't shown it to anyone else either. Thought it might seem a bit naff."

"_A bit naff? _Kay, how on earth can you think any of that is naff?" she was honestly shocked at his modest reaction. He on the other hand seemed shocked by her incredulous reaction. Nevertheless he gave a small, shy grin and asked "Do you want to see some more?"

Almost immediately she had crawled up to his end of the bed and settled her head on his left collarbone, left arm wrapped around his waist. With a fond roll of his eyes Kay reached out to take hold of the book once more and almost carelessly let it fall open on a random page.

Still it mattered little what page it landed on as nearly every corner of each page was filled with the most incredible sketches and drawings, done with every type of medium from pencil and ink to charcoal and oil. Some depicted people; Rosaleigh was able to pick out portraits done of his parents, his friends, some famous people and even herself. That one stunned her completely; the careful detail and almost perfect tones were so accurate that it was nearly like looking at a photograph.

There was also a charcoal drawing of his gorgeous collie, Koda. She saw another picture of a rabbit, some drawings of sheep and horses. There were millions of other bits and pieces that had simply caught Kay's interest but what struck her the most was his landscape sketches which included buildings like his house, his school and even a full scape drawing of the whole village which he must have drawn from a distance. The scale was almost completely spot on and the detail infallible yet judging by the lack of smudges and eraser marks it didn't seem to have taken much effort.

"Why the hell haven't you become a millionaire by selling these yet?" she blurted, awed.

Her admiration touched him "Thanks but they're nothing big. Anybody can pick up a pen and draw, especially a left-handed person."

She stared at him in disbelief "Kalum, I have seen big spenders pay out huge amounts of cash for stuff that looks like thrash compared to this! You're seriously talented!"

He scoffed at this "Most so-called art enthusiasts these days would shell out thousands for a canvas that's had a spider run across it with its feet painted just to keep up appearances! There's no appreciation, I mean look at Van Gogh he only sold two paintings in his whole lifetime and the man was a god! I could never be like that."

"Stephen King syndrome."

He cocked a confused eyebrow "Sorry?"

"You're like Stephen King." At his blank expression she groaned "You've never heard of him?"

"I've heard his name before." He admitted guiltily "But I can't remember where."

She shook her head in disgust before explaining "He was a horror book writer, probably one of the most famous and celebrated authors in the world. He didn't think he was much cop either when it came to his talent; one day he got so frustrated while trying to write a novel that he threw all his work into the bin only for it to be fished out by his wife later on. After reading it she showed them to his publisher…." She paused for emphasis "Those bits of paper he considered rubbish became _Carrie_, his first and to this day most successful novel."

Kalum found the story interesting but failed to see how it related to him "But what…"

"The point is what you might consider rubbish might be amazing in other people's eyes." She elaborated calmly, hand stroking his stomach gently through the fabric of his shirt "You just take it for granted. And believe me what you have _is _amazing, Kay. Don't let anyone tell you different, even if that anyone is yourself."

He gazed at her fondly and laid a tender kiss on her forehead "Thanks." She nuzzled her face closer into his shoulder "Have you ever thought of doing it as a career?"

"Art? No, it's more of just a hobby. Besides I usually do it as a way to unwind, I'd be afraid I'd end up hating it if I did it as a job."

She could certainly see his point in this "Ok. Just out of interest, now the exams are nearly finished have you given any thought to what you'd like to do career-wise or are you still unsure?"

He sighed and shook his head "Still got nothing. To be honest the past few weeks have been so chaotic I've barely had time to give it any thought."

"Did anything ever cross your mind at all? Anything you'd like to be?"

He drummed his fingers on his sketchpad "In all seriousness I think the last time I was thinking about a career I was about eight and determined I was going to be a builder like my da." He grinned a little sadly "Talk about the impossible dream, eh?"

She could hear the tone of regret in his voice and she turned her face to look at his concernedly as he went on "Just think of how fewer problems I'd have trying to pick a career if I didn't have to worry about _this_. Employee material at its best!" the bitter sarcasm in his voice was obvious.

Rosaleigh placed a hand on his face and stroked the stubble beneath her fingers "You are amazing in every possible way." She muttered softly "And if an employer can't see that then he's not worth working for."

He didn't really know what to say. Leaning his head in he thanked her with a soft, slow kiss. Once they parted he leaned his head against hers "You're incredible." He smiled as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"I know." She smirked before giving him another small kiss as they heard the front door open

"Kay, we're back!"

"Bloody well took their time shopping didn't they?" Kay muttered.

"Now, now, be nice." She scolded before sitting up and straightening her clothes and hair anxiously "Do I look ok?"

"Yes, like a flipping Venus." Kay rolled his eyes good-humouredly "If I wasn't dating you already I'd ask you out!"

"You're a moron." She huffed, giving him a dig. He chuckled "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

As they came through the doorway they could hear Aaron calling from the kitchen "Do us a favour Kay and text Rosaleigh, ask if she prefers carrots or parsn-"

He stopped abruptly as he caught sight of the two teenagers in the living room, one looking rather awkward and the other looking nervous "Um, hope you don't mind but I kind of got lonely so I asked her to come around early." Kay explained lamely.

Before Aaron had time to reply Rosaleigh quickly put on a smile and held a hand out "I'm Rosaleigh, pleased to meet you! I like both by the way so I don't mind which one."

While Kay marvelled at her ability to do what he'd failed at with her mother Aaron's face broke into a smile and he shook her outstretched hand "Pleasure is all mine, Rosaleigh. Just happy to meet you at last, we've heard a lot about you!"

"All good I hope, Mr Walsh?"

"Please, it's Aaron! And yes, his eyes practically light up whenever he talks about you."

"_Daaad_!" Kalum shot a glare at his father who innocently gazed back as though totally forgetting their agreement to not try to embarrass him.

She however laughed "Funny, could've fooled me the amount he complains whenever I'm around!"

"Pay no heed; he's just a drama queen like his da." Aaron cast his eyes up, evoking another death stare off his unimpressed son.

"Is his da around?" she asked eagerly, figuring that if one of his dads was this friendly the other couldn't possibly be bad either.

"Jackson's just out back taking a phone call; he'll be along in a minute. Come into the kitchen and I'll fix you a drink, I'm sure mardy-arse over there didn't offer you anything!"

Kalum started to splutter indignantly as she giggled "No, to be fair he did."

"Miracles happen every day I suppose." He grinned "Anyway come in and have a seat."

While she walked ahead Kalum muttered in a hushed, vexed tone to his father "What did we agree?"

"Yeah, well maybe next time you have your girlfriend around early you'll drop a warning so I won't have to great her dressed like a tramp, you little shit."

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Still as the night went on Kalum let himself relax as things ran smoothly, conversation flowed freely and Aaron refrained from any more embarrassing comments. He was particularly happy with Rosaleigh's reaction to his da; while she knew of course of his attack and Kay had warned her that some of the damage still remained she greeted him just as warmly as she did Aaron, not batting an eyelid at his injuries. For someone who had been so nervous beforehand she was all chat once the ice had been broken over dinner

"What do you fancy doing in college, Rosaleigh?" Aaron asked as he topped up her glass. She thanked him and replied "Hopefully midwifery; I think there's something really nice about the idea of bringing someone's child into the world."

"What, kicking and screaming and covered in goo?" Kalum smirked.

"Hush up you!" Aaron snorted "She's thinking of the positive side. Mind you, I can't see myself down that line of work so fair play to you."

"Thanks but in fairness I couldn't see myself having the patience to work with cars! I really couldn't tell the difference between a Ferrari and a Volkswagen!"

"Seriously?" Aaron laughed, secretly hoping she was joking!

She directed her next question to Jackson "Kay tells me you're a builder, Jackson?"

"That's me." He grinned "Could've been something useful if I wanted to but no, I became a brickie!"

"Don't be like that, where would any of us be without builders? Besides, Kay was just telling me earlier about how he only ever wanted to be a builder when he was little, weren't you Kay?"

"Hmm?" Kalum snapped out of his trance. It wasn't that he was being rude or found the conversation uninteresting, but this talk of professions had him pondering and an idea had just hit him out of nowhere and the more he thought about it the more he liked it. It was something that had both his interests and skills combined and for once in all the time he'd spent melting his brain over possible career choices this one felt right, somehow.

Quickly re-capping what had been said to avoid accusations of ignorance he replied "Oh yeah, I did! And that actually got me thinking…"

"Is that what that noise was?" Jackson chuckled.

"Har de har har! No, I was thinking that maybe a good career choice for me would be an architect."

All three around the table stared at him, Rosaleigh starting to smile. Aaron was the first to talk "Well I don't see why not, you always wanted to do something in construction and you're good at maths and art- so I hear anyway!" From the exasperated tone Rosaleigh guessed with a touch of guilt that when Kay had said no one else had seen his sketchpad he'd quite literally meant no one else.

"Plus you've already done your maths exam last week and you still have art, art history and French left to go so you've got the right subjects lined up!" Jackson added "Is it something you think you'd be happy doing, mate?"

"Yeah, I think so." For the first time Kay both sounded and felt certain.

"Then that's what matters!" Aaron grinned, relieved that Kay could finally strike this worry off his list. "How the hell did this epiphany happen?"

"With a little help from Stephen King." Rosaleigh laughed, giving a pleased Kay's hand a squeeze under the table, not minding that his parents might have just been convinced she had lost the plot completely.

Jackson looked astonished "You've read Stephen King?"

Rosaleigh nodded enthusiastically "I've always liked horror books and one time when we were on holidays in Spain I'd forgotten to buy a book and the only horror book they had in English was an old copy of _Salem's Lot_. I was kind of sceptical but once I started I couldn't put it down, so I pretty much became a fan."

"No kidding! My favourite one is _Dreamcatcher_, have you read it?"

Aaron and Kay eyed each other in amusement as the two bookworms discussed the novelist. Aaron had only ever attempted one King book and though he wouldn't admit it it had kept him awake for days. Kay's knowledge extended to the film Shawshank Redemption and that was only because they were made to watch it in English class. He was just so grateful to have an ally in his dad regarding this.

Famous last words "You haven't read Clive Barker have you, Aaron?"

Aaron's face lit up "I did funny enough just a few years ago! See my foster father used to keep some books in the bog…"

Kalum groaned, making a mental note in his head to read more horror material. Still he couldn't deny how pleased he was to see his parents get on so well with Rosaleigh so he'd be content with being the spare wheel just this once.

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Jackson began washing the dishes while Kalum waited outside with Rosaleigh for her lift; Aaron or Jackson would've offered her a lift only they'd have a couple of glasses at dinner and her mum was passing on her way home from work anyway.

Jay smiled as he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist from behind and a chin resting on his shoulder "Oh you're still here then? I was half-worried you'd run off with your new interest!"

"Get stuffed!" Aaron snorted "She's a nice girl though, isn't she?"

Jackson agreed "Our Kay did well there, I must say."

Aaron gently squeezed his waist and kissed his neck "And what was all that talk before about a brickie not being anything special? Come off it! Do you think I fancy you more in a suit than your dirty, ragged-up builder's gear?"

"You may just have to get used to that, darling." Jackson's face suddenly split into a beaming smile. Aaron frowned "What do you mean?"

Jay turned around in his arms to face him, looking excited "I didn't want to say anything at dinner but that call I got earlier was from Declan. He says that the trial today made him realise that he can't afford another mistake like that again so he's fired Megan!"

Aaron was still confused; sure it was great news and everything that cow deserved but he didn't see what the excitement was all about. He was sure Declan would be more than capable of finding someone just as bitter and cold-blooded to fill her posi-

He froze as it dawned on him "You…"

"The job's mine if I want it." Jackson's eyes sparkled "Co- managing director! What do you think?"

Aaron's arms tightened around his waist as he brought his head in for a kiss "I think…" he muttered huskily "… that once Kay's settled I want to take a co-managing director to bed."

Jackson smirked "Thought you wanted a soldier this morning?"

"I still do, plus my usual brickie."

Jackson's eyes widened in mock amusement "What, all tonight?"

Aaron shrugged "Why not, the night's still young."

Jackson simply shook his head with an impish grin "You won't be able to sit down tomorrow, just hope you know."

"Is that a promise?"

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Kay and Rosaleigh waited at the front gate for her mum to arrive. She was running a little late but it didn't matter; the night air was warm and it gave them a chance to talk about the evening

"Sorry if they're a bit eccentric, my folks."

She shot him a look of surprise "Don't apologise, I loved your parents! I honestly could talk to them all night!"

"I've noticed!" he laughed.

"Aww, is someone jealous?" she teased.

He snorted "Do I need to be?"

"Oh definitely." She grinned "Your father's hot."

"Which one?"

"Both!" she chuckled "I might have picked the wrong Walsh."

"Grave digger."

She smiled "Seriously though, your family's really nice. You seem really close."

Kalum nodded almost bashfully "We are."

Just then they saw the headlights of her mum's car in the distance "Thanks for coming tonight, I don't think they could've waited any longer!"

"Tell them not to worry; if I have my way I'll be over every second day!"

"Fancy coming round on Tuesday then?"

"Love to." She nodded before placing a hand on his neck and going in for a goodbye kiss, settling herself temporarily down on his lap. It was nice until they heard a gruff male voice calling "Rosaleigh, could you please put your tongue back in your own mouth and get in the car so we can go home?"

She broke off the kiss with a furious expression at her brother's unimpressed tone "You think _your_ family's eccentric?" Kay chuckled at this before she parted from him "I'll see you during the week then."

"You will." She smiled before giving him another quick kiss "Bye. Lo-"

She stopped abruptly, a stunned Kay staring at her as she quickly finished "Lovely time tonight, thanks!"

With that she hopped into the car and gave a still stunned Kay a wave as they drove out of sight. Kay watched them go and remained there for what felt like ages in shock; somehow he doubted that had been what she had originally intended to say.

And yet, the thought of what she might've originally meant didn't scare him half as much as he would've expected.

…..TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again. Nice to see you, to see you nice! Well this chapter centres mainly on A&J's getaway to the Seychelles, for a better idea of where I've sent them have a look at this link: **** north-island**

**Chapter 8**

"Do you have the boarding passes?"

"Yes."

"Passports?"

"Got them."

"Nothing like razors or bottles in the hand luggage or pockets?"

Aaron sighed in exasperation "Just give me a second Jay, I think I may have accidentally packed my machete! Of course not, you'd swear I'd never flown before!"

"Just making sure." Jackson smiled "I wouldn't put it past you anyway; I know how you enjoy a good frisking!"

Aaron snickered before double-checking that they had everything they needed, Jackson chipping in "You sure you have enough clothes packed for two weeks, babe?"

Aaron nodded "Yep, plenty. Besides-" he smirked "- if I get my way I won't find time to wear even half of them!"

Jackson chuckled "_Down_, boy!"

Aaron tried to feign innocence "What? I don't mean just for _that_, I mean in general!"

Jay blinked "You mean just walking about _starkers_?"

"Why not? Best thing about this trip is that we're going to be miles away from anything and you seeing me in the buff is hardly something new."

He certainly had a point; their family members had been very generous with their gift, booking them into one of those holiday huts along the many beaches of the Seychelles. These huts were particularly popular with newlyweds due to their luxurious design and location beside the sea but also due to their isolated state; there was no other dwellings for at least a couple of miles and one would have to drive to go into the nearest town. Perfect for couples who wanted to spend time alone together.

Jackson shook his head fondly, not sure if his husband was joking or not but certainly looking forward to finding out. "Come on then streaker, are you ready to go?"

They met Kay at the foot of the stairs "Have a nice trip!"

"Whoa, hold your horses! We need to run over some things first!"

"Such as?"

"First of all, are you sure you don't want to stay somewhere like Max's or your gran's? You're totally fine on your own?"

"Yes dad, I'm sure. Quit worrying I'm not going to be totally alone; I have Koda, the lads are staying over some nights and gran's gonna pop in every now and again to give me a hand and make me food like we discussed."

"Right, well about these "staying-overs"…" Jackson cocked an eyebrow "I know you're not a child anymore Kay but would I be right in assuming that all stay-overs will be strictly male?"

In that moment Kalum wondered if it was possible to die from embarrassment "Jesus Christ, da!"

"Will they?"

"Yes!"

"Alright." Jackson smiled at his son's flushed face before Aaron added "And while we don't mind your mates coming around there's to be no wild parties, no strangers in the house male or female and NOBODY goes upstairs!"

"Ok, got it." Kalum sighed.

"Right. You know where your gran is if you need anything, don't blow the house up and don't miss us too much!" Jackson grinned, not wanting to leave on a stern note. Kay smiled "I'll try not to."

"Permission to give you a hug?"

Kalum rolled his eyes but he was fighting back a smile "Alright." He grunted, allowing first Jackson then Aaron to give him a hug goodbye. Although they wouldn't admit it for the sake of not hurting his teenage pride they would miss him over the next fortnight. "Have a good time."

"You too, we'll call you."

"Don't forget to bring me back something nice!"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Kalum lay on his back in his back garden; shirt removed and glasses on with a content smile. To his right Thomas was lying on his front seemingly asleep and next to Thomas Ryan was sprawled out across one of the garden chairs, legs dangling over one of the arms. Joseph's spot to Kay's left was currently vacated as he went to the bathroom.

Ryan suddenly remarked "How bloody long is Conlon going to be in there? He's been gone ten minutes!"

"You know Joe, probably has a boxing magazine stashed in his shorts." Kalum grunted.

"Still, I could do with a leak myself." Ryan complained. "Does he have his phone with him so we can call and see if he's dead or alive?"

"Course he does, his hand's been glued to it since he came!"

They paused for a second, considering this.

"Hey, Thomas?"

Thomas made a grunting noise against his towel which Kay chose to take as an acknowledgement "Is Joe seeing someone?"

Thomas' eyes snapped open and his cheeks flushed slightly, being a dead give-away. "Might be." He mumbled, deciding that lying was pointless.

The two other boys stared first at each other and then at Thomas in shock "WHAT? Who?"

Thomas paused before shaking his head "Sorry lads, I can't give that information. You'll have to ask him yourself."

"Come on Thomas we're all mates here, he's hardly going to mind!" Kay argued. Thomas shrugged "Then I'm sure he'll have no qualms about telling you himself."

"If he does I'm going to damn well wrench that phone off him and give his little friend a buzz!" Ryan grumbled. "Doubt that'll work, there's training on all day today so his _friend_ will be too busy to pick up." Thomas snorted.

Kalum was about to continue the debate in frustration before a sudden thought hit him like a ton of bricks. This realisation stunned him and rendered him temporarily speechless with disbelief as he processed what Thomas had just said slowly in his mind. "Joe was meant to be at that training today too, wasn't he?" he asked carefully, forcing his voice to sound casual.

Thomas without giving it much thought nodded "Yeah but of course the moron is still off for tripping over his own feet."

Thomas frowned as he gained no response to this as he had been expecting further argument. Looking up he was surprised to see both Kay and Ryan staring at him slack-jawed, Ryan's glasses raised above his widened eyes.

It took a moment for him to realise his mistake. Colour drained from his face as he stuttered in alarm "Wait…no…it's…"

"Sweet. Baby. Jesus." Ryan gaped as he caught on to Thomas' slip up.

"Don't say anything!" Thomas hissed "He's coming!"

As Joe returned to the garden totally oblivious to the subject of the previous conversation all tried to behave casual "About time you came back, Niagara flippin' falls!"

Joe simply rolled his eyes as he lay back down and adjusted his dark sunglasses. As he did so Kay couldn't help but stare at him in total amazement. As naturally as he could manage he remarked "That phone of yours must be generating the bloody heat out here at this stage!"

Joe shrugged with a grin "What can I say, I'm a popular guy."

No more was said as everybody tried to decide how best to approach this situation. Finally the silence was broken by none other than Ryan "Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Do we know him?"

Joseph frowned. "Who?"

"The bloke you're texting. We know, Joe." Ryan finally admitted.

The other boys sprang up from their lying positions like a shot, none as quick as Joseph who had gotten rid of his glasses and whose eyes were enlarged in both shock and alarm, mouth agape. Thomas seemed to be looking for a hole to bury himself in while Kay watched on uneasily, fearing how Joe might react.

"I….he…" Joseph tried to re-find the ability to speak before turning suddenly towards a sheepish Thomas "I told you to let me tell them myself!" he snapped.

Kay came to his rescue "Thomas didn't tell us anything. Well, not purposely anyway." He threw a guilty look Thomas' way before continuing "He just made the mistake of saying the person was on your boxing squad. And well, considering all your squad is male…" he left the sentence unfinished lamely.

Joseph remained silent as he took all this in, eyes shut and rubbing his temples, not giving away any emotion. Ryan broke the silence once more with an almost shy mumble "Joe…. are you gay?"

The other lads held their breath as Joe's eyes slowly opened and he met Ryan's curious gaze. They heard first a sigh and then a dry chuckle "You might have just fared better in those A levels than you thought, Caulfield."

The others let themselves breathe; relieved as a still unsure Ryan repeated "Are you?"

Joe cast his eyes upwards in exasperation "No Ryan, not at all. But my boyfriend is."

This caught everybody's attention, including Thomas' "_Boyfriend_? Since when?"

Joseph shrugged "Last month."

"And he is…?"

"He's called Shane." They noticed a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth "He just joined from another club. He's really nice."

"Hang on, stall the ball a minute!" a flustered Kay held his hands up in disbelief before turning to his friend of eleven years who was talking as though they were chatting about the weather "Joe, we've all been friends since we were six and you didn't think to mention some little word about this to us sooner?"

"I thought you would've guessed yourselves. Plus if I'm honest I wasn't sure how you'd react." He admitted rather shamefacedly.

The other lads could only stare at him, gobsmacked. "Joe…" Kalum began slowly as though explaining something obvious to a child "Have you ever actually met my parents? I'd be in a bit of a pickle if I was homophobic, don't you think? "

"What a moron and a bloody half you can be at times, Conlon!" Ryan snorted

"How the bloody hell would you expect us to react?" Thomas snapped.

Kalum turned to him "I thought he already told you?"

"Only because I walked in on him and Shane having a snog in the changing rooms!"

A pin could've been heard dropping as Joe shot a bemused glare at an uneasy Thomas. Rather than try to save Thomas this time Kalum let his curiosity get the better of him "What?"

Joseph sighed and ran a hand uneasily through his hair "You remember when I hurt my leg?"

Ryan unexpectedly blurted out "Sex injury?"

The other three stared at him incredulously "Caulfield, there's a reason why I tell you nothing!" but Joe was smirking. "Anyway no, I did trip over a rope while skipping. Bit of an embarrassing story behind that."

"Spill!"

Joe reddened as he muttered "He was practicing sparring in the ring with his shirt off at the time. I got a bit distracted."

"There's three lads with their shirts off around you now and your concentration seems ok!" Ryan comically sounded miffed.

Joe rolled his eyes "I have standards, Caulfield." He smiled to show he was joking "Anyway I was sitting in the changing room thinking about how stupid he must have thought I was and nursing a sore leg when he walked in on his own and started chatting, asking how I was. We hadn't really talked much before that, he goes to a different school you see. One minute he was just chatting normally and the next he went for a kiss.

Obviously I was shocked but I was hardly going to push him away. Then Thomas came in-" he shot a displeased look at a disgruntled Thomas. "I didn't see him for a while afterwards, made me feel a bit shitty thinking that he'd just used me for an experiment or something. Then one day he called in to see how I was; we got talking properly and he said sorry for making a move on me so suddenly, not even knowing if I was gay at the time, but that he did like me a lot. I don't know if he was bullshitting this but he said the reason he switched clubs was because he'd seen me in competitions." Joe smiled a bit shyly at this. Whether it was true or not he had found it sweet.

Both Kay and Ryan were still in shock; it wasn't that they had a problem with Joe's sexuality, certainly not, but this was _Joe_. Joe who lived in Adidas and Nike, who took lumps out of blokes in a ring for a hobby, who spent his Saturdays working at his father's ironmongers yard. He just didn't seem to fit. Then again in saying that, neither did either of Kay's parents.

A sudden thought came to Kalum "Does your parents know?"

Joseph hesitated; causing Kay to worry that he'd stumbled upon poor territory. After a moment's pause Joe nodded slowly "Yeah, told them a while back."

"…How'd that go?"

"Very awkward but better than expected. They were kind of shocked and didn't say anything for a few minutes but I was expecting that. It didn't take long for mam to warm to the idea though- she got really gross saying some bull about how delighted she was to know that she had loved at least one of her five boys so much that no other woman would ever be good enough for him!" Joe pulled a grimace as he finished.

While the others laughed Kalum inquired "And your dad?"

Kay tried not to let the slight touch of anxiety slip into his voice; while he was extremely fond of Anthony he worried that his reaction may not have been as enthusiastic as Colleen's. And while he knew Anthony loved his son he also knew of cases where news like this triggered a negative emotional response that could over-ride that love; Kay would never forget that time when Jackson had considered him old enough to know about Jerry Walsh's reaction to his son coming out. Kalum, who couldn't even picture Aaron or Jackson ever laying a hand on him in that way, hadn't even thought it was possible for a parent's love to turn so quickly over something so stupid.

"….Dad surprised me. He was quiet for longer than mam and it'll probably take him a bit to get completely used to it but his reaction was both strange and surprising."

"…meaning?"

"His first words to me after my "announcement" were was I still going to play rugby."

All three stared at him, stunned as he went on "I said yes, and he just shrugged and said that that was the most important thing because a non-rugby playing Conlon just isn't natural." Joseph grinned.

The sense of relief could be felt in the air "Your dad's a legend."

"He has his moments." Joe grinned.

With that they settled back down to enjoy the rest of the summer's heat, Joe looking much more at ease with himself. Their peace was broken once more "Joe?"

"Yep?"

"I'm just thinking, with you two being boxers and all, your first row is going to be absolute carnage!"

"Shut the fuck up, Caulfield."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Aaron's eyes flickered open as they were met with blinding sunshine and the smell of salt water filled his nostrils. After a second of confusion his face split into a big smile and he turned to the right to gaze out at the incredible ocean view which lay out before them.

He noticed to his disappointment that his husband wasn't beside him in their king sized, crystal white four poster bed. If Aaron was honest he wouldn't know where to begin when it came to looking for him as their hut was far bigger than expected! He hadn't seen too much of it yet as they had arrived really late in the evening and he hadn't the energy to do anything other than collapse onto their stylish bed but he definitely remembered it being massive and concluding he was going to get lost at least once before they went home.

Just then he heard footsteps he knew so very well and propped himself up on an elbow eagerly as the object of his desire entered the room wearing only a pair of shorts, beaming "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Aaron grinned sleepily, noticing beads of sweat clinging to the flesh of his husband's waist and chest "Where did you get off to?"

"Woke up early and went to explore. Took a jog along the shore to burn the flab I picked up while my ribs were healing."

Aaron took a close look at his husband's hard, toned body and scoffed. "Come back to bed."

Jackson didn't need asking twice. Coming to Aaron's side of the bed he positioned himself on all fours above his husband, arms resting either side of his head as Aaron wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

Jackson pulled away as Aaron began to almost lazily grind his hips against his "I'm going to get you all sweaty, babe."

"That's the idea." Aaron replied sultrily, pulling him back down with one arm and playing with the waistband of his shorts with the other. Jackson smiled against his lips "Ok, guess you don't want to see our pool and Jacuzzi and…"

"Pool? Jacuzzi?" Aaron was stunned; when he'd first heard of where they were staying he'd naïvely half-expected the place to be a proper hut built of twigs and straw, totally devoid of any technology.

"Mm-hm." Jackson affectionately stroked the line of his husband's jaw with a finger "Plus a barbecue, hammock and a stretch of beach all to ourselves. But of course if you're happy enough to stay in bed…"

He was amazed at the speed with which Aaron had hopped out of bed and pulled on a pair of shorts, looking like a child at Christmas "Well come on then, give me a tour!"

"Not even going to give me a chance to shower?" Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Nope; you robbed me of a bit of morning fun, I'm robbing you of a shower!" Aaron snickered.

As they walked Jackson wrapped his arms around Aaron's waist and nuzzled his face into his shoulder "I could've really done with that shower though; we do have a whole two weeks of "fun" to look forward to!"

Aaron smirked "How about a compromise then? Once you've shown me around we can shower AND have a bit of fun while we're at it."

"Oh Mr Walsh, you do drive a hard bargain…"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The next few days passed far too quickly for their liking but they were days spent in total bliss as the two made the most of their time together. This was helped by the many benefits their dwelling and spacious patio provided such as their own private pool, lounge area and outdoor Jacuzzi as well as their own private stretch of beach quite literally on their doorstep.

Jackson had gotten a delightful surprise one morning to come outside to find his already out and about husband lying back on a lounger catching some rays bare-arsed. It took some persuasion but finally Aaron was able to convince Jay to shed his own shorts and found great amusement in his partner's somewhat skittish reaction as he tried to relax once au natural in the open air, head flicking cautiously from side to side despite knowing nobody else would be around for miles.

Jackson caught him smirking and scowled "What?"

"Just admiring the view." Aaron replied casually, smirk still not leaving his face.

Jackson snorted and crossed his arms and legs in a way Aaron found adorable. Reaching a hand over he tenderly caressed his husband's thigh "Do you want me to help you relax, baby?"

The tone of his voice made something in Jay's stomach flip excitedly, not to mention cause a stir between his crossed legs. Still he kept his voice normal as he answered "Wouldn't dream of bothering you; you're obviously too busy sun-worshipping."

At this Aaron discarded his sunglasses and pounced "The sun can wait its turn." He growled playfully.

Truth be told once Aaron was finished with him Jackson did indeed relax and the occasional strutting around in the nude ceased to cause him anxiety though it was mutually decided that it might be best if they donned clothes at least some of the time as they were finding it hard enough as it was to keep their hands off each other. They were both surprised at this; both had expected a bit more fun in the sheets than usual of course but for whatever reason be it the hot weather, the fact that they were totally alone or the feeling that they were in some sort of paradise or whatever else their sex drive had completely gone through the roof. It wasn't just the sheets that could tell some tales either; there was barely any area of their holiday abode that could be spared a guilty glance. The craving was sudden and unexpected but impossible to ignore, not that either of the lads wanted to.

But Aaron particularly noticed that sometimes the craving wasn't even for sex. Quite a few times even at night Aaron had felt the urgent need to nudge his husband awake just for a long round of kissing and cuddling. Jackson seemed to be particularly fond of this whenever they were in their pool or lounging about outside. It was almost like a virus or an addiction brought on by the warm, sultry African air. Whatever it was the boys certainly weren't going to complain, if anything they were grateful to know that after twenty years of marriage they still fancied each other something rotten.

And of course their days were not wholly taken up by these sorts of activities; most days they went walking down along their private shoreline hand-in-hand or swimming in the clear blue water of the sea or even just messed about in their pool. A couple of days during their first week they somewhat reluctantly brought themselves to leave their haven to venture into civilisation for shopping and stuff. The town itself was lovely and interesting and they found a great deal of stuff that would be gift material for their son but once the day was over they were more than happy to return to their hut.

Of course they called Kalum practically every night just to make sure he was ok. Due to this being the first time they'd ever left him on his own for a long period of time they did tend to worry about him and despite the great time they were having they did miss him terribly. He seemed to be getting on fine though and it reassured them at times to hear his mates in the background, even if they were shouting out exaggerated comments like "Pass the joints!" once seeing Kay on the phone. Sometimes they could hear Rosaleigh but this didn't worry them; Kalum may not be a saint but he never broke promises, particularly to his parents. He'd agreed to follow their rules while they were away and they fully trusted that he would.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

At the end of their first week Aaron was roused from his sleep as he felt small feather-like kisses being trailed along his upper back and shoulders. He kept his eyes shut as he enjoyed them, though letting his other half know of his consciousness by entwining his fingers tightly with those of the arm wrapped around his torso. When the kisses finally reached his neck Aaron mumbled "Morning."

"Morning, gorgeous. Coincidently, happy seven thousandth and fifth morning of married life!"

At this Aaron turned around in his arms, smile creeping onto his face "Have you been counting?"

"Yup! In fact if I'm to be totally accurate we've been married exactly seven thousand and five days, one hour, ten minutes and about twenty-six seconds!"

Aaron rolled his eyes as Jackson cheerfully went on "Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine…"

Aaron shut him up in the best way he knew, Jackson's countdown being muffled by his husband's lips over his. Both smiled as they parted and leaned their foreheads together

"Happy anniversary, baby."

"Happy anniversary, gorgeous."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The day was another perfect day in paradise for them despite not doing anything out of the ordinary. They didn't plan to go anywhere or do anything to mark the occasion nor present each other with anything as mutually decided; they had everything they needed right there.

Towards late afternoon Jackson noticed that Aaron had been absent for quite a while since he'd last excused himself. After getting no reply to his name calling Jackson got up and searched the whole hut top to bottom only to find no trace of his husband. Starting to feel worried, Jay walked out on to the patio to have a look at the shore in the fading sunlight only to once again find nothing. The car was still there so he couldn't have gone off anywhere and even if he had he would've told Jackson first.

A quickly panicking Jackson was startled as he suddenly felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Spinning he jumped as the face of his husband came into view "Hey, you ok?"

"Where on earth have you been?" Jackson stuttered.

Aaron's only reply was a knowing smile and taking his husband's hand tugged gently "I'll show you; c'mon."

Jackson was confused but played ball as he allowed Aaron to lead him away from their usual area to a spot beneath some grassy cliffs not too far off. To his astonishment Aaron motioned that they had to go upwards.

"No way!"

"Just trust me on this, it'll be worth it!"

With a surrendering sigh Jackson began to climb the grassy slope behind Aaron, thankfully it wasn't as steep as it looked and there were plenty of footholds. The sky had darkened considerably by the time they reached the top, Jackson questioning whether it was now even worth their while as the view would be obscured. Still Aaron looked eager as he came to a halt at the top, Jay following closely behind "Ok, what was it you wanted me to-"

He stopped suddenly as his eyes took in the sight that lay before him. Laid out on the cliff were a blanket and a picnic basket, lit up by loads of candles scattered about the place.

As Jackson remained speechlessly stunned Aaron began awkwardly "I know we made an agreement but I just fancied doing something small to mark the occasion. My original ideas were things like snorkelling or shark-cage diving but then I thought well that just screams happy anniversary doesn't it, taking your chances against a great white…" Aaron realised he was babbling and he finished softly "I know I'm not a big romantic and I don't do things like this as often as I should so I just thought this might be something you'd like, you know?"

He worriedly noticed that Jay hadn't said anything yet "What do you reckon?"

Jackson surprised him by pulling him into his arms and giving him a massive kiss "I reckon I love you!"

Aaron smiled in relief "Wow, finally figured that out after twenty-two years together have you?"

The food Aaron had packed was lovely, as was the surprise bottle of champagne he had somehow sneakily managed to buy when they were last in a local town. Once full they lay back, Aaron's head resting on the left of Jay's chest and arms wrapped around each other, looking up at the stars. Neither was overly religious but at that moment both sent up a quick prayer of thanks to whoever was listening.

"Twenty-two years today." Aaron muttered nostalgically.

"Yeah." Jackson lovingly rubbed his husband's arm "I must say, offering me champagne was a big twenty-two year leap from lager!"

Aaron scoffed "As I recall you didn't even drink the lager in the end, you rude git!"

Jackson chuckled "I had better things to focus on." He was silent momentarily before adding softly "Imagine, its twenty years today since we walked down that aisle."

"I know, where'd the time go?" Aaron grinned "What anniversary did you say this was; china and plutonium?"

"China and platinum!" Jackson laughed. Aaron gave him a dig "The only thing I know about platinum is that it's used in catalytic convertors, what's so romantic about it that it had to have an anniversary named for it?"

"Well, let me tell you a bit about both china and platinum." Jackson propped his head against his hand while Aaron listened in curiously.

"I don't think I have to say too much about china. It's pretty, granted, and of a high status but it's also delicate, fragile and only ever of real good use when in the right company despite being so common that people don't really consider it a big deal anymore.

Platinum however is a different thing altogether. A very under-rated material but incredibly rare and precious, you have to dig long and far before you can find it. Worth far more than any bronze, silver or gold. While it has an incredibly high boiling point and it's tougher than iron there's a shine to it that can never be tarnished or fade away, which is what makes it so beautiful and coveted…"

Jackson paused as he noticed moisture starting to form in the corners of Aaron's eyes, Aaron having already understood what he was getting at. Nevertheless Jackson continued, trying to keep his voice controlled "…. and because platinum is so rare and worth so much it's unbelievably valuable and anyone lucky enough to have it never wants to lose it…"

With this he slowly put a hand into his shorts pocket and drew out a small, black box and held it out to Aaron, who was now finding it so hard not to let his tears spill. Almost trembling hands taking hold of the box Aaron slowly and silently opened it to reveal a stunning, platinum men's eternity ring. While Aaron stared at it in awe Jackson finished softly "_You,_ Aaron Walsh né Livesy, are my platinum."

Aaron couldn't stop a couple of stray tears falling as Jackson quickly added "I know we agreed not to get each other anything but I couldn't resist once I saw this in a jewellers. Do you like it?"

Aaron's only answer was setting the box down carefully and lunging at his surprised but pleased husband, pushing him back down onto the blanket and kissing him stupid until he was blue in the face.

Once Aaron had let him up for much-needed air Jackson took hold of his partners left hand and slid the ring onto his third finger, right above the still shining gold band Jay had placed there twenty years ago that very day. Afterwards they contently lay in that spot curled up together, watching the night sky and listening to the waves.

Jackson managed to see a few shooting stars but he didn't wish for anything. He didn't need to when his life was just perfect the way it was. He gave Aaron a small kiss "I love you, Mr Walsh."

"I love you too, Mr Walsh."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Aaron walked out on to their patio on the final day of their holiday and stood taking in the last rays of the setting sun with a sigh. He'd loved every minute of being here and it would be difficult leaving this little piece of heaven behind but he accepted that all good things had to come to an end.

A voice suddenly made him jump. Turning to his left he saw his husband sprawled out on the hammock, also catching the remaining bit of sun "Care to join me?"

Aaron didn't need to be asked twice. Carefully he climbed into the hammock and snuggled in beside his husband, who placed an arm securely around him. Silently Aaron lifted a hand and ran his fingers tenderly over the healed scars and cuts that had been left behind on Jay's face from the attack and firmly believed he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. He believed he knew now why they'd been so touchy-feely this past fortnight; he'd heard of some airy-fairy crap before about there being a time in every couple's life when they fell in love with each other all over again. He supposed that if that crap was true, this had to be it.

Jackson nuzzled his face against his "Great trip wasn't it?"

"Amazing." Aaron agreed.

"I can't say I'm totally sad about leaving though; I've missed Kay quite a bit." Jackson admitted causing Aaron to smile "I know, I miss him loads too. But can I just make an honest statement?"

"Sure."

"I wouldn't trade our Kalum for anything, you know I wouldn't, but I just want you to know that these past two weeks of being alone with you have been one of the best times of my life."

Jackson smiled "I think so too. And hey no need to feel guilt over that, we're entitled to enjoy some time to ourselves. This trip may be one of the best times of our lives but Kay will always be the best thing in our lives."

Aaron smiled "True." He leaned in to give his husband a kiss, hand by force of habit going to grasp lightly at his hair as he did so. He noticed however that he was finding a bit more to grab hold of and paused to investigate his findings.

As he did so his eyes widened and a thrilled chortle escaped his lips. "What?" Jackson inquired curiously before wincing as he felt a small, painful pluck at the side of his head "Aaron, what the-"

He stopped abruptly as a smirking Aaron held up a hair in front of him. It was so short it was barely visible but looking at it closely…

"Hellllllooo long John silver!" Aaron chuckled triumphantly.

Jackson groaned "Oh no!"

"Oh yes!" Aaron gleefully ran a hand over Jackson's mostly brown but now speckled with grey hair.

"It's now official; we're getting old!" Jackson sighed dramatically.

"Yeah…" Aaron gripped hold of his hand and looked up at him tenderly "But we're getting old _together_, isn't that the important thing?"

Jackson was almost overcome with emotion as he nodded "Yeah, yeah it is."

Sharing another kiss the couple rested in each other's arms, silently and peacefully enjoying their final evening in their island paradise watching the sun set over the horizon, the blue sky now discoloured by streaks of unnatural colour, much like their hair.

But as long as both were still together when their hair turned completely grey and the light became total darkness, they would have no complaints.

….TBC

**Thanks for bearing with me; trying to make a metal sound romantic isn't easy! Shall be going abroad myself soon so next update might take a while but until then thank you!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again, a million apologies for the delay but real life has been very busy and hectic so thank you for your patience.**

**Chapter 9**

_July_

"Kay still not up out of bed yet?" a freshly awoken Aaron slumped into a chair at the table while his already washed and dressed partner put on the kettle "Teenagers and their holidays! They spend all year moaning about having no free time and when they finally do get it they sleep it away!"

"Wind your neck in, grandad." Jackson smirked as he placed a plate of toast in front of him "Firstly you're no early bird yourself on your time off. Secondly Kay's been out of the house since nine."

Aaron was stunned "Why?"

Jackson stared at him in disbelief "Don't you know what date it is? Kay told us weeks ago that he was moving out today!"

"WHAT?"

Aaron's shocked and horrified expression was replaced by a scowl as his partner failed to keep a straight face any longer and burst out laughing "Awww, you're so cute and gullible when you're half-awake!"

"Shut up." Aaron growled but he had to smile at his own foolishness. "Where is he anyway?"

"He and the lads asked Dennis if they could use the pool. He said it was no problem as long as they were out of there by two because he has guests coming to stay at three."

Aaron's mother's long-time beau Dennis had invested in a country cottage not too far off from the village a few years beforehand. He had gotten it at a surprisingly decent price despite being equipped with its own medium sized pool, which to be fair in the typical British climate was a rarely usable facility. He sometimes rented it out for a bit of extra dosh since his retirement from teaching and on the rare sunny days like this permitted the usage of its pool to his taken-on grandson and his friends, so long as the cottage wasn't occupied.

"Who's up there with him?"

"The usual suspects; Thomas, Joe and Ryan." Jay shrugged.

Aaron cocked an amused eyebrow "Should we be worried?"

"You think we should? Teenage lads, an unguarded pool and Ryan Caulfield all in the same place - what could possibly go wrong?"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"What the-" Thomas' sentence was left unfinished as he was suddenly grappled roughly around the waist and flung into the freezing cold water. Joe had managed to dodge the grappling arm but failed to move quick enough to avoid the foot hooking around his ankle and causing him to lose his balance, sending him in quick pursuit of Thomas. Both resurfaced gasping for air and teeth chattering from the coldness, glaring bitterly at their snickering attacker

"Thought athletes were supposed to have a good sense of balance!"

"You just fucking wait until I get you in here, Caulfield!" Thomas snarled through his clacking teeth "We'll see how much you like laughing with your head held under water!"

"Shaking in my size sevens, I'm sure." Ryan snorted, sticking a foot into the water and lazily kicking small waves of water over his unimpressed friends.

Kalum chuckled at his friends' antics as he lay back on a lounger, enjoying what would probably be the last of the summer sunshine. It was good to finally be able to relax; his exams and college applications were done and dusted, his graduation and essentially his secondary school life was over and best of all he had a whole month before his results came out. Life could be far worse.

He frowned as he felt drops of water spraying him, surely it hadn't started raining? Opening his eyes he was greeted with the sight of Thomas shaking himself like a dog in a bid to get dry, smirking at his friend's unimpressed look

"Want to roll over so I can scratch your belly?"

Thomas snorted "Funny! Anyway I notice you don't seem to be dressed for the occasion."

Kalum eyed the large turquoise rectangle in front of him warily "I'm quite happy where I am, thank you."

"Meh, it's probably the wisest decision, considering that prat-"

"You called?" Ryan bounced up cheerfully and sat at the end of Kay's lounger, perfectly at his leisure ""Prat", was that really the best you could come up with, Brook? That's a bit _wet _I have to say!" he snickered

Thomas scowled as an equally soaked Joe joined them "You're dead, Caulfield!" he snarled as he too took a place on the end of the lounger.

"You were taking far too long getting in so I was just giving you a hand." Ryan chuckled, pushing his dark bangs back from his face "Plus I needed a way of finding out the temperature before I went in!"

In response to his two friends' further bristling he shrugged "After next month we'll not be seeing each other as often as we usually do so I'm just relishing what little time we've left."

While Ryan had meant his melancholic tone of doom in a comical sense his words had an impact on all four of them, himself included. Indeed it had only struck them now that come September all four of them would be heading in separate career directions; Kay in architecture, Joe in forensics, Thomas in teaching and Ryan in acting if all went well for each of them. For the first time in over ten years they would be educated in separate places meaning that they would not get to see each other as often as they were used to.

Being lads they didn't show their true emotions regarding this gloomy fact but they would be lying if they said they had no regrets about entering this new chapter of their lives blindly and without the company of their childhood companions. Entering secondary school had been worrisome enough but at least then they had still had their group; this time it was going to be ten times harder.

In an effort to boost the mood Kay joked "Yeah, I'll be stuck doing more maths for at least four years while Ryan enjoys frolicking on a stage and attending after-parties!"

"Fingers crossed." Ryan grinned though none of the boys missed the brief flicker of anxiety crossing his face. He'd received a call-back recently from the RADA and that seemed to have gone well but he wouldn't know the results until around the same time as the A level results were out. The waiting period was indeed the hardest part.

"Not trying to be funny or anything but can you really sing, Caulfield?" Joe asked curiously. It was a legit question; none of the three had ever heard him seriously sing.

"I suppose I can; I wouldn't have been cast in so many musicals if I couldn't." Ryan wasn't boasting, simply stating a fact. As Joe opened his mouth again Ryan cut across "And before you ask Conlon, the only time you'll hear me sing is when you pay forty quid at the door." He grinned wickedly.

"You'd actually charge _us_? Thought we were your mates!"

Ryan shrugged "Fifty quid then!"

Thomas shook his head in disbelief "How would we know if you were worth the money without hearing you first?"

"I assure you Brook the head of casting told me I have the voice combination of Michael Bublé and Jesus."

Thomas rolled his eyes "Bull!"

Ryan decided he was bored of this talk of careers already and changed the subject "Anyway, once the first year's out of the way we should definitely go off on a holiday. The lot of us piss off somewhere foreign for a couple of weeks with no missus' or misters and just go bloody mental!"

The others mused over this suggestion "Not the worst idea you've ever had Caulfield, but where would we go?"

The next few minutes of conversation concentrated on this topic, excitement building in each of them as they planned "Right guys, the United states is out."

"Why's that?" Thomas asked, surprised.

"Well for a start I doubt any of us have the money!" Joe explained "Plus we won't be able to drink. The legal age is twenty-one over there for the most part."

"Fair point. Right so America's out, so is anywhere African or Australian I take it?" All were agreed that for economic reasons somewhere in Europe would probably be their best bet and somewhere warm of course "Italy?"

"Again it'd probably cost an arm and a leg just for the flights, we need to get a bit closer to England."

"Germany?"

"Not that close! Keep in mind we want it to be someplace really warm."

"France?"

"What did I just say?"

"No, there are parts of France that are hot in the summer. Côte d'Azur?"

"What's the cost?"

"Kinda pricey." Thomas admitted. Ryan sighed "See that's just the problem! Looks like we're left with the old reliables; Spain or Portugal. Hot, inexpensive and we'll be over the legal drinking age! Sorted!"

Ryan noticed that Kalum hadn't contributed much to the conversation "Let's take a vote, starting with Kay; Spain or Portugal?"

"It doesn't make much difference to me mate; I don't think I'll be going anyway." Kay admitted gloomily. His three friends stared incredulously at him "_What? _Why?"

Kalum sighed and ran a hand uneasily through his hair "Look lads, I'll only be dragging you down if I go. Someone's gonna have to give me a hand pretty much all the time from getting on the plane to going out at night and I seriously don't want to be putting that stress on you so I'm just gonna sit this one out. No worries."

He was surprised to see their shocked expressions turn quickly to disgust. "Not to sound rude, Walsh, but if I have to shove your stupid arse into a case you are getting on that plane with us!" Thomas cast his eyes up in exasperation. Joe gave him a small shove "Moron!"

Kay tried hard to disguise the surprised but pleased smile that was threatening to split on his face as Ryan scoffed "Mate, do you really think those two would last a full fortnight without killing me if you weren't there to act as peacemaker? I'll carry you the whole way across Spain if it means I don't come back to England in a box!"

Kalum snickered causing Joe to ask "So, is that a yes?" "S'pose someone has to keep you lot out of trouble."

"Exactly! You're like your da, the voice of reason. Anyway Conlon, does your family still own a house out in Spain by any chance?"

"No, we sold it when we moved back here."

"Damn it. Another question; is Shane going to be ok with you knocking around Spain for a full fortnight on your own?"

"Course he will." Joe replied. Ryan directed the same question to Thomas "And Jade?" Thomas too answered in the affirmative. Finally he turned to Kay "Rosaleigh be cool with this?"

"She will. Besides it's not like she owns me."

Ryan hid a small frown, not missing the slight tone of bitterness in Kay's retort. Deciding it was better to not inquire further he changed the subject "So Kay, show me how we're meant to lift you?"

Kalum, grateful for the change in discussion, sighed and instructed "Right, one arm under the legs and the other around my back, kind of like how you'd hold a baby. If I'm too heavy just go for the fireman's lift."

Ryan did as instructed and got it on the first go. "Right, now put me down." Kay grunted. He knew that if Ryan was able the other two would be more than capable of lifting him too. Ryan however tried walking a few steps carrying his friend just to get the feel of things "Jeez you're lighter than I thought! To think you were- shit!"

Ryan's foot suddenly caught on something and he stumbled, tethering dangerously with the added weight of Kay, causing his arms to flail automatically and drop his mate like a ton of bricks. Thankfully Kay landed with a heavy splash into the waters of the pool rather than on the concrete ground but yells of horror filled the air as his desperately thrashing arms failed to keep him above water level and sunk along with his head below the surface within seconds.

The other three stared at the spot where he had sunk uneasily, unsure of whether Kalum was only kidding or not. After ten seconds of nothing but bubbles coming to the surface the three shared a horrified look

"SHIT!"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Aaron bounded in through the front door gleefully. He had just attended a meeting with his garage's manager and had received brilliant news which he couldn't wait to share with Jay. Looking around curiously he couldn't see any sign of his other half anywhere. He wasn't in the living room, there was nobody in the kitchen and upon inspection Aaron didn't find him out the back. His van was still in the drive so he couldn't have gone too far.

Presuming he'd gone off on a job or a visit somewhere Aaron disappointedly climbed the stairs to get changed; it would be typical that the one time he had something important to say there would be no one in the house to listen to him!

However as he entered the bedroom the unexpected sight of his husband lying on their bed made him jump. Recovering quickly he shook his head and smiled "There you are! Nearly gave me a heart attack! I have som-"

He stopped as he noticed his partner had barely acknowledged his presence. His facial expression was pale and fixed and his eyes appeared glazed over and lost as he stared off into space, their only reaction being a regular blink. His body was still yet tensed, its only movement being the steady rise and drop of his chest. So seemingly lost in a world of his own that he didn't appear to be aware of his husband's presence, or if he was he either didn't care or was unable to respond.

Aaron worriedly tried once more to get his attention "Jay?"

As his words were met with further deathly silence Aaron began feeling a bit panicky, half-scared that Jackson was having a seizure or something. Leaning over the bed he gave one of Jay's shoulders a shake "Jay? Jackson you're scaring me now, can you just answer me?"

Thankfully Jackson responded this time by way of slowly closing his eyes and letting out a heavy sigh. Aaron anxiously began stroking the side of his face "C'mon Jay, what's up? Are you mad at me for some reason?"

"No, no, nothing to do with you." Jackson's voice sounded very small "It's just…" he stopped.

"Yes?"

With a slow hand Jackson retrieved what appeared to be a small clump of envelopes which had previously escaped Aaron's notice from the bedside locker. Aaron could see that they had been already opened and their contents read, judging by the crumpled condition of the letters inside as though they had been hastily stuffed back within their papery confines.

Aaron counted three as he gently took hold of the letters. Not having a clue of what to expect he flicked open the top one and scanned through. As his eyes reached the bottom of the page he heart seemed to pause and his blood turned to ice as he stared at the name of the sender at the end of the page now clutched to the point of tearing

_Vanessa_

"What the-"

"Just read them." Jackson cut across, voice sounding hollow.

With trembling with rage hands Aaron forced himself to hold down spiteful bile as he read through what seemed to be the oldest of the letters. It appeared to be some form of an apology note, declaring her remorse for her actions. Aaron snorted scornfully as he finished "That demented bitch can shove her apology where the sun doesn't shine! She doesn't have a remorseful bone in her body!"

"I know; read the next one."

Indeed the second letter proved that remorse clearly wasn't Ms Sander's strong point at all. Neither was sanity but of course Aaron knew that already. All the same he found it difficult to keep his stomach from churning as he read what could only be described as an incredibly risqué letter, detailing several if not all of the thoughts Vanessa had had of Jackson during their time of working together, leaving little to the imagination. Aaron noticed as he finished the letter his husband folding his arms firmly across his chest, as though her very words had violated him. Aaron didn't blame him; just reading her scrawled descriptions had made his skin crawl. He placed a comforting hand over one of Jay's.

Although he doubted it could get any worse he had to force himself to read the final letter. For different reasons this one was worse than the last; it was full of spite and aggression, hurtling remarks and insults regarding all aspects of Jackson and his life including especially Aaron and Kalum. While the comments about himself only mildly irritated Aaron it infuriated him to read the disgusting things she had wrote regarding their son, an innocent in this big mess.

It didn't surprise Aaron that Jay had reacted the way he did to this bit of unwelcome post, but something else did "How the hell did these end up in our mail?"

"No idea, the three of them just turned up this morning after you left."

Aaron could hear the depressed sentiment in his voice and lay the letters aside while he lay down beside his husband and wrapped a comforting arm around him. Laying a kiss on his neck he muttered "Don't let that batshit-crazy slag get to you."

"I know, I'm trying not to but just some of what she said really stuck with me and it's playing on my mind."

"Like?"

"Some of the things she said about Kalum, mainly about me being nothing but a guardian and come next March he'll officially be nothing to do with me. That I could try to lie to myself all I like but in reality I'm not Kay's father and I never _will_ be his father and I'd just lost my chance of having a biological child of my own."

"Jay-"

"That doesn't bother me, not having a child that's mine biologically, not in the slightest. I love Kalum as my own and I know they're all just digs. But what really annoyed me is that the rest of what she said holds some truth; our adoption term officially and legally ends the day Kay turns eighteen. And I hate her so much for this but she's right; I'm not Kay's real father and I never can be no matter how much I want it. And Christ Aaron, God knows I want that so bad it hurts!"

Aaron could hear the frustration in his strained voice and it made his heart break "Hey." He comfortingly tightened his hold around his partner's waist and looked up into his eyes "I know she's a cunning and manipulative cow but don't you dare let her put that sort of shit into your head! Yes Jackson, once Kay turns eighteen he'll no longer be deemed our responsibility but this will be the case with every other parent once their child turns eighteen, adopted or not!"

He could see Jackson raise his head curiously at this, as though he had completely overlooked this fact. Aaron went on softly "And yeah, I know that no matter how much we want it Kay won't ever be ours biologically. But does that really matter? Do you think that he's going to stop thinking of you as his father just because he's not your "legal responsibility" anymore? You think he's going to forget that it's you who's been to all his matches, who used to read him bedtime stories and sit up with him whenever he was sick during the night and who he now asks questions to about girls, college and shaving? You think a shot of sperm makes that _asshole _more of a father to Kalum than you?"

He brought a hand up to stroke the stubble on the side of his partner's face lovingly "Kay started calling you daddy when he was four because he wanted to, not because he was legally obliged to. That's not going to change just because he's becoming an adult. Blood or not, you and I are the only ones he's ever going to call his father and that's through his own choice. Put it this way; when Kay turns eighteen are you going to stop thinking of him as your son or love him any less?"

Jackson shook his head "No." Winding his arms tightly around Aaron he planted a grateful kiss on his temples "I'm sorry for letting her wind me up, she's just such a…"

"Shit-stirring, jealous, conniving bitch? Yeah I think so too." Aaron nodded before adding darkly "Plus that prison is going to be lucky if this doesn't result in a lawsuit!" he glared hatefully at the letters, which he would have torn up only for the fact they could be used as evidence.

"Just as long as we find out how and why the hell they were sent!" Jackson shuddered involuntarily "To be honest the most off-putting letter wasn't the last one, it was the second!"

Aaron crinkled his nose "Yeah, I can kind of see why!" "Even the thought of her touching me makes me want to take a bath." Jackson pulled a disgusted face. Aaron let out a small chuckle as he ran a hand slowly over Jay's stomach and chest "No need to worry; there's only one person who's ever going to be allowed to touch you like that." He stroked his partner's flesh tenderly through the fabric "This is mine."

Jackson smirked playfully "Getting a bit possessive are we?"

He was pleasantly surprised to find himself pushed down further into the mattress as Aaron suddenly hovered over him, pinning his arms above his head with a wicked grin "What if I am?" he purred "I just don't appreciate toffee-nosed cows touching what doesn't belong to them." He leant forward to give a smiling Jackson a kiss. "You sound very sure of yourself, Mr Walsh." Jay teased

Aaron winked "If you like I can claim you as my own the way nature intended!"

"Hmmm." Jackson ran his newly released hands slowly up and down the sides of the legs currently straddling his waist "While that does sound tempting I think we best leave it till later; Kay will be home soon."

"Spoilsport." Aaron huffed but smiled as he leaned in for another kiss before removing himself from his husband and lying back down beside him comfortably. "Anyway it sounded like you had a bit of news?"

"Oh yeah!" Aaron's eyes lit up as he turned on his side to face his partner eagerly "Pat's made me supervisor!"

"_What_? Oh wow babe, that's brilliant!" Jackson was thrilled for him, he deserved it so much after all the years of hard work Aaron had put into the garage "Congratulations! Celebrations are in order!"

"I definitely didn't guess that to be the reason he called me in for a private talk." Aaron muttered humbly "I mean I'm more hard work in that place than anything else with the temper and lack of patience…"

"Hush up!" Jackson snorted, pulling him in closer to him "You are perfect in every possible way. Don't ever let anyone tell you different." As the smile spread on Aaron's face Jackson quickly quipped "Except for me when we have an argument. Then everything is your fault."

Aaron gave him a shove to which Jay responded by pulling him in for a welcomed kiss, however their moment was interrupted by the sound of Aaron's phone buzzing. Figuring it was Kay looking for a lift Aaron reluctantly pulled himself away from Jackson and answered it

"Hello?"

"Hi, Aaron? Listen don't freak out because everything's fine but we figured you had to hear about this…"

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"I don't bloody care what the reasons are behind it!"

Aaron was on the phone to the prison, talking furiously to whoever was on the other line "I damn well know she needs psychiatric treatment, that's a no brainer! ….. I don't care what kind of treatment she's getting so long as it doesn't affect or involve my family! Do you have any idea how distressed my partner was on seeing those letters?... Well you're damn well lucky that my husband's a forgiving man because were it up to me this "mistake" would cost you more than a fucking angry phone call! If we receive any more contact from this woman ever again I swear I will take it to court!"

With that he furiously hung up. The person on the other end, presumably her doctor, had calmly explained that there had been a mistake and that those letters were never meant to be posted. As part of her therapy she had been instructed to write a series of letters addressed to Jackson, detailing her feelings for him both then and now, as well as what she'd like to say regarding her actions. He explained that it was all part of making her see the wrongs of her ways but Aaron didn't give a flying fuck. Whether the apology was sincere or not, which Aaron strongly believed it wasn't, didn't matter a toss; as far as he was concerned they could put her in a strait-jacket in an isolation chamber for all he cared.

His dark mood lifted as he heard the voices of the two people he loved most in the world drifting out of the room opposite. Crossing over and leaning against the door-frame he watched on warmly as his two boys conversed on Kalum's bed.

Naturally they'd been alarmed to hear that there'd been an accident involving Kay falling into the pool but other than a bit of shock he was perfectly ok once the others fished him out and he'd puked up about half of the swimming pool's contents much to their bemusement. Still, they would have to take him to the doctor later just to make sure he didn't have any water in his lungs or any other unseen injuries.

Jackson however seemed to be doing just as good a job "Can you move your head for me?"

"Da, I'm fine! You really don't-"

"Just do it."

With a sigh Kalum rolled his head from side to side. Jackson proceeded to put his hand on his stomach, chest and neck "Can you feel my hand on all areas?"

"Yes, da." "And you don't feel faint or sick or sore anywhere?"

"Just my throat, probably from being sick earlier." His eyes sparkled mischievously "Bit of ice-cream might help!"

"No eating anything until the doctor checks you over." He felt Kay's forehead. Kalum rolled his eyes "But then I _will_ feel faint, and the doctor will think there's something medically wrong when really it's because my darling daddy won't feed me!"

"Quit whining and raise your arms." With a look of effort Kay did so and held them there. However he decided to play cute when Jay ordered him to lower them "Holy crap, da, they're stuck! I can't put them down!"

Jackson raised an eyebrow and without warning his hand darted out and under Kay's armpit, causing him to yelp automatically and briskly bring his arms down. He crossed his arms protectively over his chest "I'm seventeen, da!"

"Doesn't mean you don't have tickles!" Jackson snickered. Kay scoffed and rolled his eyes with a grin before Jackson added "Anyway I'll leave you in peace." He playfully ruffled his son's hair "If you're heading for a shower later let me know in advance so I can book a lifeguard."

"Har-de-har-har!" Kalum snorted.

As a still smiling Jackson got a can of lager from the fridge he felt two hands rest on his hips and a kiss placed on his neck. "I dunno about you, but that there definitely looked like a father and son to me." muttered Aaron as he nuzzled his face into his partner's neck. Jackson beamed as he slowly reached a hand down to grasp one of those now wrapped around his waist.

"That reminds me." With his free hand he set his can down and pulled the bundle of hostile letters from his jeans pocket "I know exactly what to do with these." Pulling away from Aaron he approached the stove and turned on the gas. Holding them over the flames both men watched in satisfaction as the vulgar, incriminating pieces of paper came alight before their eyes, the scrawled, vile words of the maniac who had caused them so much trouble burning out of existence. Jackson threw the smoking remnants into the sink, now nothing but a crumpled, unrecognisable mess of black sludge.

Wordlessly Aaron turned Jackson around to face him and kissed him tenderly, both grateful and relieved that finally that psycho was out of both their lives and their heads and happy in knowing that she had done beyond her worst and had not managed to even come close to breaking them.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Kalum stretched out on Rosaleigh's sofa while they watched a film. It was a horror so naturally Rosaleigh was curled up beside him with an arm wrapped tightly around his waist and head nestled in his shoulder, more out of a want for closeness than out of fear. Normally this sort of thing would have pleased Kay but tonight for whatever reason he felt slightly uncomfortable and tense. He knew that was ridiculous; after three months together he shouldn't be feeling this way around his girlfriend, especially when she had done nothing wrong.

Well, nothing he could really put into words or justify. For reasons he couldn't fathom she'd been awful moody and snappy with him lately, sometimes when they were together they would experience long periods of silence and any of Kalum's attempts at conversation were met with short, unenthusiastic replies. He'd learnt the hard way that asking her what the problem was only worsened the situation so he held his tongue from then on, though he voiced his concerns to his friends. Admittedly, Ryan's suggestion of "woman problems" gave him little help.

Still there were times like tonight when everything was fine and things went smoothly despite Kay still feeling uneasy as he feared another mood swing any minute. She seemed to be in a pretty mellow mood though, even to the point of affectionate, making him smile as she soon lost interest in the movie and began placing light little kisses along his neck and jawline. He allowed himself to relax as the familiar routine Rosaleigh had enacted loads of time was put into play, switching his attention from the antics on screen to the face of his mischievous looking girlfriend.

With a smile he tilted his head in to meet her in a kiss which started off in the usual way, soft and sweet gradually increasing in passion, but as time went on it became more heated than ever before. To his own surprise Kay found himself a bit unnerved by this, as when one of Rosaleigh's hands left his neck to trace down his chest and stomach until it rested just on his abdomen. Still he told himself it was nothing, she might have done that millions of times in the past and he was only aware of it now.

He tensed momentarily as her hand suddenly made contact with the flesh of his lower back, having slipped under the fabric of his shirt. While this unnerved him further he once again tried brushing it off- she had seen and kissed him countless times over the hot summer with his shirt off, so it wasn't a big deal.

However it was in the split-second when her other hand followed the path of its twin that panic sunk in; despite not having a great amount of sensation around that area Kay could sense it was heading someplace southwards and in alarm sprang apart from a flustered and very confused looking Rosaleigh.

"Kay what's wrong?" she sounded concerned and a little hurt. Kalum honestly didn't know what to say in reply, mainly because he wasn't even sure himself. What had just happened there had caught him completely off guard. His reaction shocked Kay himself, he was after all a normal teenage lad and it wasn't like he hadn't thought about it or didn't want it but… he just wasn't sure what his problem was.

"Nothing." He lied "I… twisted myself in some way during the match yesterday and I've been getting some serious pains in my side on and off since."

She didn't look too convinced; he'd seemed perfectly fine this past couple of hours. She called his bluff however and proceeded to pull his top up a few inches and gently massage the "affected area". Kay watched on with feelings of both guilt and uneasiness, the latter of which faded as he convinced himself that her actions were all for the purpose of easing his "pain."

"Sorry if I scared you there." He mumbled, genuinely meaning it.

"That's ok." She assured him "Is it really painful?"

Again he felt guilt as he replied "Not as bad as yesterday."

She smiled "Your poor folks must've had a great time listening to you!"

"Ah they're used to it. When I was eleven I broke my arm in a basketball match when my chair tipped over and my arm caught between it and the floor. More out of frustration of not being able to play for six weeks than anything else I spent most of that time moaning for them to chop the arm off because it was no good for me now."

She chuckled "Drama queen."

They passed a few seconds in companionable silence, Kay starting to feel more at ease as things reverted back to normal.

"…Kay?"

"Yep?"

"Will you tell me about your dad?"

"Er, you'll have to be more specific. Which one?" he smiled

Her green eyes met his brown ones as she replied seriously "Your real one."

At that moment it felt like time had stopped still for Kalum as he froze, memories long crushed and stowed away at the very back of his mind came into play in his head like a film; scenes involving a cliff, a gun and screaming. So much shouting and screaming. The smell of tobacco, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, the tight feeling in his chest as he struggled to breathe.

And that face…

Kalum gruffly brushed Rosaleigh's hands away from him and pulled down his top "Can we just not?"

"C'mon Kay, you've told me all you know about your mum. I'd like to know about your dad too."

"Look Rosaleigh can we just leave it out?" his plea came out a little harsher than intended. She stared at him curiously "What's the matter, Kalum?"

As she said this Kay hoisted himself off the sofa onto his chair, starting to find her questions irritating "Nothing's the matter, everything's just bloody dandy!"

She stood hurriedly "Kay wait! Have I said something wrong? I'm sorry if I've upset you; were you really close to him?"

"If I had power in my legs I would bloody well find his grave and dance on it!" Kay snarled. He knew deep down that she was innocent in all this and only being curious but he didn't appreciate her persistence in trying to talk about what was obviously a sore subject for him.

At his cold reply Rosaleigh looked astonished and changed tact "I see."

Something very deeply hidden inside Kalum chose that moment to snap "No, you obviously damn well don't see otherwise you'd know better than to bring it up!" He didn't care at that moment that he was being irrational; years of pent-up venom and anger had now burst through their barriers and he was directing all of it at the closest person possible.

It was Rosaleigh's turn to snap "Jesus Christ Kalum forgive me for having the crude indecency to ask my own boyfriend about his background!"

"And what, just because I'm your boyfriend means you're entitled to know every little detail about my life?" Kalum was shouting now "I notice _you _never offer up anything about your old man!"

Rosaleigh's mouth which had been opened to speak now clenched shut, eyes widening with shock. Kalum ranted on "So it's ok for you to keep stum about your father but it's a totally different story with me cos I'm the bloke, isn't it? I'm just a stupid boy with no feelings aren't I?"

"You know I don't think that." Her voice now had a tremble in it "And don't act like you know anything about my father because you don't!"

"Well fucking snap!" He answered furiously.

"That's because you won't let me in Kalum!" she yelled.

"The same way you're not letting me." he replied coldly.

The hard silence that followed was even worse than the argument if possible. With hard, glistening tears in her eyes she turned slowly away "I think you should go."

Brown eyes practically squinted in an effort to hold back his own tears of pain and frustration he replied hollowly "Best idea all night."

With a slam of the door that contained more agro than he now really felt Kay made his way furiously down the road, not pausing until he was well out of sight of her house. He would get the bus home; he couldn't stand the thought of facing Aaron and Jackson so soon after this.

It was only as he sat waiting at the lonely, dimly lit bus stop that he let his tears fall, for both the ancient and recent past and the uncertain future.

…..TBC

**Sorry for the length. Hope it was alright, thanks for reading and see you soon! x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello again! Thanks for all your reviews on the previous chapter, much appreciated as always. Hope this chapter goes down well.**

**Chapter 10**

_August_

Aaron and Jackson were worried. Very worried. It had now been a full two weeks since their lad had unexpectedly come home from Rosaleigh's with his eyes red-rimmed and looking full of devastation, anger and despair. Before they could even question what was wrong or why he hadn't called them for a lift he'd stormed to his room, slamming the door behind him.

And this was where he remained for the most part of this past fortnight, eating little and sleeping even less. Washing and dressing himself took a huge effort and was done rather sparingly; to put it mildly he had smelt fresher. Shaving had completely gone to pot so his lower face now sported a thick layer of bumfluff and the brown eyes although now dried up from tears were completely bloodshot and dark circled from the lack of rest.

Aaron and Jackson were getting desperate now. It didn't take a genius to guess that the cause of his upset had something to do with Rosaleigh but that was the extent of their knowledge, not that they hadn't tried countless times with each passing day to find out the exact details from Kay himself.

But Kalum wasn't in the form for elaborations. Whenever one of his dads tried to chat to him in a bid to gently coax the truth out of him he responded solely in grunts or snaps to tell them to leave him in peace. And while Kalum was exhausted, angry and depressed he wasn't oblivious to the pain and frustration he was causing his parents, and somewhere in the midst of his storm of emotions he felt guilty for putting them through it but he couldn't help it. His row with Rosaleigh had caused him so much grief that he couldn't bring himself to reach out to anyone and it was slowly tearing both him and his parents apart.

The worst had been on one occasion when Aaron had sat with him and tried to get a word out of him to no avail, and as each second ticked by the annoyance and upset sentiment in Aaron's voice increased to the point of anger and he had to get up and leave lest he said something he'd regret, though Kalum remorsefully could hear the muffled noises as his dad screamed into a cushion in the room opposite.

He let out a sigh as a mournful looking Koda leapt onto the bed and rested his shaggy head on his stomach, incapable of understanding why his young master was feeling or acting the way he was. Kay was grateful for his company as he was the only one in the house who didn't have the ability to push him for answers or judge him. He half-heartedly began to fondle his dog's ears as faces and painful memories swam through his mind; Rosaleigh being one face, Barry Albeck the other.

Koda affectionately licked the inside of his wrist. Kay paused at the action before slowly turning the wrist over and gazing at the couple of thin, raised white lines running over the part where his arm joined his hand, inflicted by tight, cutting ropes that had once bound them so many years ago.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jackson wasn't surprised to come home to find Aaron slumped on the sofa with his head buried in his hands, brow furrowed and shoulders rising and falling heavily. With a sigh he sat down beside him and put a comforting arm around his shoulders "Still not talking?"

Aaron shook his head dolefully "I really don't know what to do anymore, Jay. If we even knew what the problem was we could at least _try_ to solve it but it's like talking to a brick wall!"

Jackson nodded slowly as Aaron continued "I mean we've raised him better than this, haven't we? We've always made sure he knew that he could talk to us about anything."

"He's a teenage lad, babe; he probably thinks talking about his problems is a sign of weakness. Especially if there's a girl involved."

"But he talked to _you _the last time he had a problem with Rosaleigh!" Aaron referred to the time when Kay had first received her phone number.

"I know, I thought mentioning that might coax him into opening up but no such luck." Jackson grunted. "Do you want me to try again?"

"No point, is there?" Aaron mumbled "He's definitely not going to open up anytime tonight, if ever. Just throw his dinner in on a tray."

"Is he eating yet?"

"No, but I live in hope." Aaron sighed.

Jackson softly rapped his knuckles on the door before entering. As expected he found Kalum lying back with arms crossed over his chest, eyes shut but Jay knew he wasn't asleep. Setting the tray down gently on the locker Jackson gazed sadly at his unusually downtrodden son, wishing he could see just what was going on inside his young mind and make everything okay.

"There's bangers and mash if you want it. If you fancy it later just call and I'll heat it up ok?"

Kalum simply nodded in acknowledgment. Unable to help himself Jackson's hand instinctively reached out and gently ruffled Kay's messy crop of mousy hair. Seventeen or not, he was still Jackson's little boy and he hated seeing him like this.

"I'm not going to push you anymore, but just remember that when you want to talk me and dad are here." He said softly. Getting no response he turned and left the room with a soft thump of the door.

Under his closed lids, tears escaped Kay's eyes.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Kalum unexpectedly managed to drift off into a dreamless sleep for a good few hours that night. It provided him with some temporary escape and relief, broken all too soon by the sound of a chair scraping across his floor. Eyes flickering open he found himself looking at Ryan Caulfield, who was seated across from him. "Don't mind me. By the looks of it you could do with a good kip."

Kay raised his head wearily; he definitely wasn't in the mood for another attempt at counselling. "What are you here for, Caulfield?"

"Good to see you too!" Ryan scoffed before turning serious "I'm here to find out what's up with you. Haven't seen or heard from you in days."

"Nothing's wrong." Kay lied.

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid, Kay. You haven't said a word to me this past fortnight, your dad looked fit to tear his hair out when he answered the door, and now I've come in to find you in this state. No harm but you look like shit, mate."

"What's it to you what I look like? What's it to you or anyone else what I do?" Kalum snapped.

"Because believe it or not Kay, I'm your friend and I don't like seeing you like this! Whatever your problem is, it's hurting a hell of a lot more people than you realise; me, Joe, Thomas, your parents and I'm sure there's loads more. I don't even want to imagine what Rosaleigh's feeling!"

At the sound of her name Kay's defensive walls grew higher and his insides clenched "Oh don't you worry she's probably laughing at me! Imagine me, a bloke, hurting! That's pathetic!"

His bitter, sarcastic tone made Ryan frown in confusion "What are you on about?"

"I'll tell you what I'm on about; my girlfriend thinks I'm a joke and to top it off my friends' are abandoning me!" Kay growled, glaring as Ryan stared back in astonishment "Yes, I know Ryan! Thomas was here yesterday, trying to do the same thing you are. Mentioned in small talk that he got his uni place in Birmingham! I'll give you a better one; Joe got the forensics course at Queen's – in fucking Belfast! And as for you, come next month you're going to be prancing around stages in London! So yeah, I think I have a bloody excuse to be a bit down!"

Ryan was losing his patience "You're not a prat Kalum so don't act like one! You knew ages ago that this was on the cards! Thomas will still be around at the weekends and as for Joe, I know it's not like he's gonna be able to pop over from Ireland any time he likes but he'll be back for Christmas and summer which was more than what we saw of him when he moved to Spain! Are you really going to begrudge them for trying to make futures?"

Kalum was silent as he let Ryan's words sink in. It struck him that he did indeed sound selfish and petulant, after all it wasn't like Thomas or Joe were happy about leaving their family and friends behind. Thomas being an only child and Joe being the baby of his family would also mean that their parents would take their departures particularly hard, so Kay had no right to complain that he felt abandoned. His own university offer had still yet to come but that had been the least of his worries. He hadn't even opened the envelope containing his exam results yet, much to his parent's dismay. That lay forgotten in a drawer this past couple of days.

"And you…?" He felt alarmed as he saw Ryan drop his gaze almost shame-facedly. His attitude softened "Aw mate, I'm so sorry…"

Ryan shook his head "Don't be. I got in."

Kalum's mouth nearly dropped to the floor as he momentarily forgot his troubles "WHAT? You got the scholarship?"

"No need to sound so shocked." Ryan chuckled drily though something was off about his tone. Kay gently remarked "You don't really sound too enthusiastic if I'm honest."

"No mate, I am! It's a dream come true for me, it really is! It's just…" he sighed "… my dad called later on the same day I got the news. Said he wanted to patch things up with me."

Kalum froze; this was too eerie for words. Casually he asked "What did you say?"

"I told him thanks but no thanks. I know the only reason he wants to make relations is because of the scholarship, mum must've told him. He just wants to be able to say that his kid got into the RADA, nothing else."

While this was said in a matter-of-fact tone Kalum knew deep down that this was a hard decision for Ryan to make, despite it being years since his dad had turned his back on him and Cassie. Cassie being young at the time barely acknowledged his absence and nowadays would refer to their stepdad Adam as "dad" instead. For Ryan it was a bit tougher; despite really liking Adam, who treated him the same as he did his half-brother Tyler, Ryan had always idolised his dad even when he kept letting him down and breaking his promises.

It was only when he was about twelve or thirteen that that pedestal started to crumble, a full three years after his dad had cut ties. He gave a great impression of not caring but Kay suspected otherwise; Ryan Caulfield was tough as old leather but in spite of this he was still little more than a kid who'd been picked up and dropped too many times by a person who'd meant the world to him.

"I feel kind of jealous of you sometimes, you know." Ryan's voice was uncharacteristically soft "You've got two fathers who think the sun shines out of your ass even though, and I mean this in a good way, you're an adopted child. You've got some sort of "Danny the champion of the world" type relationship with your dads, whereas my dad couldn't give a shit about me or Cass, his own kids."

"But Adam does." Kalum replied. Although it hurt him to even say it he forced out "My real father didn't give a damn about me either, so we're kind of in the same boat. At least your father didn't hate you." Ryan was one of few people who Kalum had told about his past run-ins with his biological father.

Ryan was tactful in answering "But hey, like you said at least we both have someone now who does give a shit about us, yeah? I have Adam and mum and you've Aaron and Jackson."

This struck something inside Kay and it was as though a ray of light shone through the fogginess of his mind. Suddenly he felt his barrier start to lower bit by bit, so much so that he finally admitted "Rosaleigh asked me about him a while back."

As Ryan listened Kalum finally opened up for the first time about the events leading up to his depression. His face reddened as he spoke of what had happened previous to the row, Ryan's expression turning from one of surprise to one of embarrassment as he coughed awkwardly "Just for the sake of the topic, can you um….?" He gestured awkwardly towards the area below Kay's waist, doing little to lessen his friend's mortification. "Yeah I think so; it's just my legs that are banjaxed. Obviously I wouldn't be able to do it as well as most people but yeah, everything's in working order."

"Ok… then what's wrong? Are you just not ready?"

Kalum couldn't believe they were actually having this conversation "I… don't know. I mean part of me does want it but then this other part just holds back."

"You worried she might get pregnant or something? Cos you can prevent that."

"Don't be stupid Caulfield, I know that!"

Ryan shrugged "In any case mate, I think you're right to put it off until you're sure. The only thing I think you could have done better is maybe your reaction; I doubt she would have minded if you just explained it to her. If she's worth anything, she'll understand your needs."

Kay smiled weakly "Sounds like you have experience in this sort of thing, Caulfield." Ryan winked "You don't get this many slaps off women without learning one or two things!"

Kalum laughed genuinely for the first time in what felt like ages. Ryan was about to press him for further information when Kay's door creaked open. "Ryan, your mum's here. Says you have to go home to babysit."

Kalum grinned as Ryan rolled his eyes and got up "Talk later, yeah?"

"Sure." Kay nodded as Ryan made his way past Aaron. Aaron, who looked weary, was about to leave Kay's doorway when he heard a small "Dad?"

Scared he was hearing things he turned to see Kalum looking at him with intent. Hardly daring to let hope into his heart Aaron replied "Yes, son?"

"Can we talk?"

Aaron felt his heart rise ever so slightly and he tried not to look too eager as he sat down beside his son "Of course we can. You know you can talk to me or da about anything."

Kalum felt the back of his tired eyes sting slightly as he mumbled "I know." Finally, the last brick of his mental wall was removed as he began telling Aaron his woes. Aaron kept his questions simple "Is that why you've been so down, mate? Because you and she had a fight and you think it's all over?"

"Partly." Kay admitted before returning to silence. Aaron suspected there was more. "And what's the other part?"

Kalum knew that if he didn't say it now, he never would. He took a breath "She wanted to talk about Barry."

Aaron frowned "Barry who?"

"You know. My father."

Aaron tensed as expected. With a sigh he went on "And the shit hit the fan, so to speak."

Aaron listened as his son elaborated. Upon the end although the words tasted bitter in his mouth he calmly reasoned "Well mate, you kind of have to see it from her point of view. She doesn't know about that part of your life or how painful the memories are. As far as she's concerned she was only asking her boyfriend a simple question about his background."

"Ex-boyfriend." Kalum corrected miserably.

"Don't talk like that!"

"It's probably true though, especially after how I acted. I suppose I shouldn't really take it this bad though, we've only been together three months and what are the chances we were going to stay together for life anyway? How many people marry their first love?" He turned to Aaron "Like, how many loves have you had? Including da?"

Aaron contemplated before answering "Well, I went out with a couple of girls but I didn't feel anything towards them so they don't really count. So in terms of how many life loves I've had; 2."

Kalum was surprised; he never would have guessed his dad's oat count was so low. "Who was your first?"

"Some bloke I met when I was still struggling to accept my sexuality. A really lovely bloke who I treated rather badly for the first few months we were together because I was stupid and too afraid of what people might think of me. I screwed up so many times but he took me back every time until one night my stupidity went too far and it ended up with him being landed in huge trouble because of me."

"What kind of trouble?"

"The being put in hospital kind. He got really badly injured in an accident and we broke up again. Then once again we got back together and that cycle kind of continued for a while until he fully recovered from his injury. That's the whole story really."

Kalum was curious "What ever happened to him?"

Aaron sighed deeply "The poor bastard ended up marrying me."

Kalum gawped widely at his dad in shock "Da? He was your first love?"

"He was." Aaron smiled "You know about his paralysis so I don't need to talk about that but I was a right idiot towards him when we first got together, ten times worse than you to Rosaleigh! During one of our break-ups I started seeing a bloke called Flynn, a really nice lad but I never felt anything romantic towards him so he can't really qualify either."

Kalum frowned as he inquired "But then who was your second love?"

Aaron gave him a sheepish look as though it was obvious "You're going to hate me for this, but you."

Kalum stared incredulously "Me?"

Aaron nodded "You won't understand until it happens to you but when you have kids of your own Kay, you don't just love them, you fall _in _love with them. Obviously not in the same way, but you do all the same. "

"Even if they're adopted?"

Aaron nodded solemnly "Not to get sappy but me and your da didn't necessarily just pick you; instead it felt like we were drawn to you."

"Because I had a disability?" Kalum felt bad for saying it but it had to be asked.

Aaron shook his head "Nothing to do with that at all, in fact we didn't know you were disabled until near the very end of our visit. But at some stage you just caught my eye, and you were just sat there with a book. Legs propped up, small and a head of sandy hair with a gorgeous pair of eyes. It was the eyes that kind of got me. You were still in your silent phase, really shy and just sneaking glances at us from behind your book when you thought we weren't looking."

Kalum grimaced "I must have been a right dry sort of kid then!"

"On the contrary mate, we thought you were perfect." Aaron replied simply, stunning Kay. "Yeah, we knew that you being mute and unable to walk would have its difficulties but we just wanted you so badly. I can't even explain why. Before we even knew your life story we wanted you to have the best of everything in life, regardless of what stood in our way. We'd have given you the whole world if you asked. Still would.

The bottom line is this; I don't know if you believe in destiny or not, mate. I've got no choice after everything me, you and your da have gone through. It's true that not many people end up with their first loves for life but at the same time it'd be silly to throw away what you have with Rosaleigh after your first fight. If I had done that after the _twentieth _fight I had with your da just look at everything I would've lost, including you. If you still have feelings for her, which you obviously do, then you keep fighting. Let destiny do the rest."

Kalum felt tears come to his eyes as everything that had been said by Aaron in the past few minutes and his own storm of worries came to a climax in his mind. "Am I like him?" he finally blurted.

Aaron looked confused "What?"

"Barry Albeck. Am I like him?" Kay didn't care that the tears were probably now visible as he finally admitted his biggest fear "I've been told about my mum, that I look like her and that she was a lovely woman but if I have her looks then surely I must have gotten something from him as well.

I know he was evil but he couldn't have always have been that way, he must have turned out that way at some stage. Even though I hate the thought of it there's part of him in me and if not his looks then what? His personality?" Kalum babbled almost hysterically as a completely shocked Aaron watched on

"My worst fear is that someday I'm going to look in the mirror and see him looking back at me." The tears were now starting to flow "People think I don't remember, but I do. It's not something you forget. I remember exactly how angry and vicious he could get and I can't stop thinking that maybe I'm going to turn out like that. There's times lately when I get so angry over the stupidest of things and I end up taking them out on other people, and I stop and think that it's already started!"

"Kay…"

"…and people who don't know the real story don't help; I've been told by some that I have da's eyes, and others have said I have your smile. At first that makes me feel happy but then it's like a punch in the stomach when I remember that that can't be possible. And the hardest thing is that I can change my name, I can call you dad, I can pretend all I like that he never existed but the truth is that he still does in _me_." The tears were now streaming down his face, glistening as some clung to his stubble "And the thought makes me sick! I don't want to be like him, dad!"

With that he broke down in sobs, prompting a shocked to the core Aaron to act quickly. Placing a hand either side of his sons face he gently but firmly moved his head so that the scared, wet eyes of Kay was looking up into his.

"You need to listen to me carefully. I can't lie to you about your father; Barry Albeck was a liar, a thief, a child abuser and in general a cunning, vicious, selfish piece of filth who was hated by all he met. So in answer to your original question Kalum; no." he gently thumbed away tears from his lad's cheeks as he stared up at him in bewilderment. "You are _nothing _like him at all. Not even a little bit. And you never will be."

He shook his head fondly as he still saw grains of doubt in Kay's eyes "Take it from someone who knows; where we come from doesn't define who we are, Kalum. We all have a good and a bad side, what matters is the part we choose to act on. Your dad made his choice. As for you; all you need do is look at how many people love and care for you to know."

With his shoulders still shuddering Kalum shook his head "N-no." he stuttered. "_Yes _Kalum!" Aaron emphasised, trying to make him see sense. Kalum shook his head once more "No, I mean don't call him that. He's not my dad, never was and never will be, same way I'll never be his son in anything but DNA."

Raising a hand he wiped away the last of his tears, still tired, still ragged looking, but definitely looking far better than before. "I know I don't say it often." He mumbled as he cleaned his face up "But I love you and da, and I'd give anything to be your real son. Just want you both to know that."

It was Aaron's turn to blink back tears as he pulled Kay in for a hug, Kalum returning it willingly. "You _are _our son." He mumbled into the could-be-fresher light-brown hair "Nothing will ever change that. You're our boy."

Kalum nodded, fresh tears starting to form. He made no attempt to force them back; dignity could go to hell in this situation. There'd be plenty more opportunities to play the hard, unfeeling teenager later.

"Love you, dad."

"Love you too, son."

Just at that moment Jackson entered the room, having just returned from work and feeling worried as he heard the sound of sobs. However his anxieties were diminished as Kay shot him a weak but cheerful smile and Aaron held an arm out in invitation. Jay cleared the distance in five large steps and joined his husband and son in an embrace, relieved that the storm seemed to have passed and content with only knowing that much about it for now.

Kalum now realised how ridiculous he had been; of course he'd never become his father, especially not as long as he was surrounded by so many people who loved him; something which Barry for good reason had rarely if ever experienced in his sorry life. Kalum had the love of his parents, his other family members and his friends.

And, hopefully, one other person if she could find it in her to forgive him.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Kalum took a few deep breaths as he paced up and down the pavement of the small, well-kept street. His nerves were playing up big time. After much inner debate he hurriedly pushed himself through the gate before he lost his courage and paused briefly before raising a somewhat reluctant hand and pressing the doorbell, heart racing as he mentally went over what to say. He was terrified. Aaron and Jackson had assured him there was no need to be, that once all was explained everything would be fine. Kay wasn't sure; he was almost certain he'd blown it. But at the very least he owed her an apology, even if that was the only thing she accepted from him.

He didn't know whether to feel more uneasy or relieved when her mum answered. If she had an opinion she kept it to herself as she ushered him in and nodded in the direction of the kitchen.

He found Rosaleigh seated at the table, auburn locks shielding half her face as she pored over what looked like a text book. But she wasn't alone; a boy of around the same age with dark hair and a handsome face was seated next to her with head also bent a little too close to Rosaleigh's for comfort.

Kay felt his stomach lurch unpleasantly at this cosy scene. It gave another heave as Rosaleigh's head lifted up to identify their intruder, eyes widening with disbelief as she saw him. Kalum ignored the other set of eyes also staring at him, focusing guiltily on the redness of the skin around her striking green ones.

The brief awkward silence was broken by a civil mutter "Hey."

Kalum nodded in reply "Hi." At least she hadn't told him where to go already.

Rosaleigh turned uncomfortably to her curious companion "Zack, would you mind if we left this till later? I'll give you a call."

Kalum felt another nasty twist as a less than happy Zack picked up his book and made to leave, nodding at Kay as he left. As the door shut behind him Kalum began "He didn't have to leave on my account. You looked quite content where you were, could've just told me to go."

She sighed wearily and ran her hands through her hair "Please don't turn this into another row Kalum."

"I'm not." Though he was secretly peeved at the thought that she might have moved on so quick he wanted to keep things level "I'm just saying that if you want me to leave, I'll leave. And I understand if you do; I was an asshole and I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

It was tough for Kay being as stubborn as he was to admit when he was in the wrong; Rosaleigh clearly knew this as she stared at him in amazement "That's what you came all this way to say?"

"Well I was sort of hoping as well that you might take me back, if you wanted to that is." Kay replied awkwardly "Though I suppose Zack kind of beat me to it, huh?"

She blinked before realising "It's nothing like that! He's my mum's friend's son and he's studying for his driving test. I just offered to help him out, take my mind off things."

Now Kalum felt guilty and embarrassed "Oh. Right. I'm sor-"

"If I'm honest-" she unexpectedly cut across him "he did ask me out. He's a sweet guy, Kalum, and even you can't deny he's good-looking. It'd be very hard to say no…."

Kay felt annoyance at this "Well then don't! Please just don't toy with me Rosaleigh, if you don't want to try again just say and put me out of-"

"I told him I couldn't." she finished bluntly. Kalum blinked "Why?"

Her cheeks flushed a light pink as she casually replied "Because I was still in love with my stupid boyfriend."

The kitchen clock ticked. Kalum tried to kick-start his brain into thinking. "You love me?" his throat had gone suddenly dry.

She sighed in exasperation "Yes Kay, I thought that was obvious! I have done this age's and I still love you now but there's too many secrets between us. I know that's my fault as much as yours but if we can't be open and honest then-"

"Then we'll just have to be open and honest, won't we?"

This was going to be a long night.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

An hour and several coffees later they were still sat at the table and Kalum had just about finished his long-hidden back story about his parentage. Ignoring his feelings he gave her the full run-down of all his father-son experiences with Barry Albeck, her expression becoming more and more shocked as he went on. At one point her hand twitched as though itching to take his, but thought better of it. She swallowed hard as he finished solemnly "God, Kay. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't ha-"

"Yes, you should've. You had a right to know and I shouldn't have reacted like I did."

She was touched by this "You don't have to apologise, but thanks anyway." She then took a breath "My turn…"

"You don't have-"

"I do." She shot him a look which made him zip it. With an effort she began "There's not a lot to tell really, especially after all you've been through, but let's just say my dad wasn't the nicest either. He was… a drinker. A very heavy drinker. And he wasn't too nice when he was sober let alone drunk. He was never violently aggressive but verbally he was horrible; called mum all sorts. He used to leave me and Scott alone though, we'd just sit in our rooms until the yelling stopped. Scott's a year younger than you and me, so I used to cover his ears when the shouting got too loud and let him sleep in with me till it was over."

She paused and squeezed her eyes shut as she continued hoarsely "…one night it kicked off and Scott got scared; we could usually predict when the rows would happen but this one was unexpected. He left his room to come into mine and found them arguing on the landing. Dad saw him and, full to the brim, grabbed him and started throwing him up in the air, playing with him, mum yelling at him to put him down. Dad stops to continue yelling at her and forgets about Scott, next thing all I hear is screams…"

Tears started raining from her eyes and her voice began to shake, an ashen-faced Kalum grasping hold of her hand comfortingly. She finished croakily "A six year old boy plus a two storey fall equals five broken ribs, two broken wrists, fractured pelvis, a concussion and a lifetime in a wheelchair with no feeling from the waist down. Needless to say dad scarpered pretty quick and no-one's heard from him since. I hope he's choking on his own vomit in a gutter somewhere."

As hard glistening tears continued to form in her eyes Kalum pulled her in close and held her while she sobbed, shocked to his foundations. With everything that had happened in his life he supposed he'd never guessed that someone else could have had just as bad an experience as he'd had.

"I just needed to know." She sobbed "You never talked about your father and I didn't know why. I know this sounds horrible but I was kind of hoping I wasn't alone. It's been a full ten years last month since he left and it was just playing on my mind but I never would've asked if I knew how horrible yours was…"

"Shhh." Kalum soothed, stroking her hair comfortingly "It's ok, it's alright. You're not alone; I'm here."

When the crying subsided she raised her head and Kay gave her a tissue. As she wiped her tears away she exclaimed "Oh no! Sorry, I've got your shirt all wet!"

"No worries." He chuckled lightly.

"I would've thought I'd be all out of tears now." She joked before realising too late what she'd said, seeing his face drop. She went on seriously "I'm sorry for what happened that night Kay, I should've known you had reasons…"

"I told you it's fine, you didn't know." He smiled before remembering something else "I'm sorry as well for acting like I did when you, you know, when you got bored of the film…"

She looked at him, face blushing "You weren't really hurt then?"

"No." he admitted "But just to be clear, what were you actually…?"

Her face nearly went scarlet with embarrassment "Did I do it wrong? God, I probably did! Sorry, I haven't had, well, any practice with it so…"

Kalum nodded; right. Cutting across her he muttered shame-facedly "Look, I hope you don't mind this but would it be ok if we just put _that _off for a bit?"

Noting her confused look he added "I'll be honest; I'd like to, I really would but I'm just not-" it took all his willpower to not grit his teeth with shame "- ready yet. Is that ok?"

He was astonished to see her confused expression suddenly crack into a smile. He then frowned, unimpressed as a sudden chuckle escaped her mouth; was she laughing at him?

"Something funny?" he grunted, ears stinging.

"No, no!" she reassured him with a smile "It's just the irony. There was me moping around for weeks thinking I was letting you down by not, you know, and God I was dreading it. Not because I don't want it or anything, but it was just daunting because I wasn't sure if I was ready yet."

"Hang on!" his eyes widened "That's why you weren't in the best of form for a while? You thought it was _me _who wanted it?"

"Kind of." She admitted "Lily said the guy usually doesn't want to be kept waiting, so it kind of worried me for a bit that I might drive you away if I didn't put out."

He rolled his eyes "This is the same Lily whose closest relationship is with the cosmopolitan mag? Figures! Tell that nosy bitch to keep her oar out; it's no one's business but ours."

She smiled as she slowly took hold of his hand. After a moment's pause in which his heart skipped he laced his fingers through hers and held tight, feeling warmth come back to his body.

Her eyes sparkled "All in good time for us then, eh?"

He grinned back with a raised eyebrow "If you're willing to put up with me."

She shrugged playfully "I'm game if you are."

He squeezed her hand "I am." He replied sincerely.

Glowing, Rosaleigh leaned her head in for their first kiss in nearly two weeks. It was only now Kay realised how much he'd missed it, and how he didn't want to go without it again.

As they broke off she laid her forehead against his. It felt nice, the auburn strands mixing with the brown, the green eyes looking into the brown. He'd missed those eyes.

"Love you."

She'd said it simply and carefully as though wary of frightening him off but no, Kalum was certain he was ready for this if nothing else just yet.

"I love you too."

….TBC

**You remember what I said at the beginning about there only being 10 chapters? I'm afraid I'm going to have to go back on that promise a bit. In saying this the end is in sight, which I'm sad about, but I shall enjoy writing the final couple of chapters all the same. Shall try making them a bit more Aarson based than Kayleigh if you catch my drift:)**

**Till next time! x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey there strangers:) I know, I'm late once again but I have genuine excuses this time; between restarting college/ uni and also starting a new job life has been pretty busy. **

**Massive thanks to all who reviewed both my last chapter and other chapters (I've just realised I haven't done a shout-out in a while!) You really don't know how much it means.**

**Chapter 11**

_September_

"Jay?"

"Hmm?"

"You still awake?"

"No." Jackson grunted sarcastically "I've recently perfected the art of sleep-speech."

In the darkness Aaron rolled his eyes "Someone's narky when they don't get their eight hours!"

If that was the case then secretly Aaron couldn't really blame him; it was a bleak, damp Autumn night with the wind billowing around the exterior of the house and the chill of the night air creeping through every orifice of the dwelling; the combination of both making sleep a difficult feat.

Now in the small hours both men were still trying in vain "You're right. I'm sorry." Jay replied with a lighter tone "It's just bloody freezing! My legs didn't even feel this numb when I was tetraplegic!"

Aaron sighed at his partner's warped sense of humour before reaching a hand out to feel around for Jackson's. Once located he was surprised at just how cold the fingers were, like long slender icicles. Closing his own fingers over the hand of which he knew every callous, every tiny scar and every freckle he comfortingly asked his shivering husband "Do you want me to help you warm up?"

Despite his blindness Aaron knew Jackson's eyebrows were rising "And no, that's not a euphoria!"

Jackson's blink was rendered useless in the dark "A _euphoria_?"

"You know, when a phrase means something different."

Jackson chuckled as he understood "You mean a euphemism, you div!"

Aaron was glad Jay couldn't see the slight redness rush to his face due to both embarrassment from his mistake and an upcoming scowl "Ha bloody ha! Well I hope that warmed your cockles because that's the only help you're getting from me tonight!" With that he turned on his side huffily.

But Jackson wasn't that easily turned away. Playfully tugging at the material of his partner's t-shirt he gently chided "Aw come on babe, I'm only messing. You know I can't sleep without a cuddle."

"Should've thought of that before you decided to be a grammar snob then, shouldn't you?" Aaron snorted but his huffy mood didn't last long as he felt Jackson slowly and gently turn him until he was back facing him. Then with one swift motion Aaron found himself lying across Jackson's chest, head nestled under his chin with Jay's arms wrapped around him. He considered playing hard to get for a bit longer simply for the fun of it but the sudden warmth spreading over his form from the shared body heat and the soothing, steady sounds of Jackson's thumping heart and air leaving and refilling his lungs lulled him into content relentment.

Deciding to wave the white flag Aaron tightened his own hold around Jackson and snuggled against his chest, his partner bending his neck to kiss him on the head "Much better, this is." Jackson muttered, tenderly rubbing Aaron's back in small circles through his shirt. Too comfy to be bothered to reply verbally Aaron merely nodded against his chest.

However it was Aaron who then broke the brief comfortable silence "Tomorrow's the big day."

"Yeah." Jay replied "You nervous?"

"Nah, not really. Excited."

Jackson smiled "Me too." He paused "Still can't believe it's happening though, it just seems too soon."

Aaron understood perfectly "I know. Seems like only yesterday we were dropping him off for his first ever day of school doesn't it?"

"It does." Jay sighed a little sadly before trying to make light of it "Still, look at him. He's going to be an architect- one of the big professions. In ten years he'll probably be designing city halls and skyscrapers with his pockets well-lined!"

"And he'll probably still expect his dinners to be handed to him!" Aaron laughed. Jackson snorted "Sod that! He's getting cookery lessons- the only reason I'm still making his tea now is because I don't think my nerves can take another one of his culinary attempts!"

Aaron snickered as he remembered a time when fifteen year-old Kay, bored of waiting for one of them to come home and feeling peckish, had tried to cook steak himself. The finished product, for want of a better word, could've still been brought back to life with the help of a good vet.

"That's a bit unfair; maybe he thought you preferred your steak rare!"

"There's rare and then there's still running around the field, Aaron."

Aaron smiled "It's probably a good thing then that he's decided to commute; I don't much fancy the idea of him ending up in hospital for salmonella every couple of weeks!"

Both knew that there were other reasons why they were happy he had decided to commute, but these were unnecessary to voice. Aaron gently nudged his husband "Just out of interest; how come you never went down the line of architecture? Seems to be something you'd like."

"Never had the brains for numbers, babe." Jackson rested his hand on the small of Aaron's back, fingers drumming absent-mindedly "Plus I was never really the academic type; much preferred to be out working and earning a wage. And if I'm honest it was another pressure my mum didn't need, paying for university, especially when my heart wasn't in it at the time."

Aaron nodded comprehensively. He himself, as un-academic as anyone could have been, had gone to college but at least he'd studied a course he loved. "But what about when you were in your twenties? Did you still feel the same?"

Jackson shrugged "I was more open to the idea of going to university alright, and maybe if I'd had nothing better going on I might have gone just to say I had but at that stage I had more important things to focus on; my family for one." He squeezed Aaron gently, who then felt a touch of guilt "If you'd said you still could've gone though. I'd have been able to look after Kalum and one of our mums could've stepped in when I went to work -"

"And I would have missed out on seeing Kay grow up while I spent my time juggling work and university, as well as not being able to spend nearly as much time with you as I'd like, all for a degree which would mean nothing to me." Jackson soothed "Like I said babe, I only would have considered it if there was nothing better; and there was. I don't regret a thing."

Aaron smiled warmly as Jackson remarked "I had this talk with Kay the other day, believe it or not. He was getting a bit of cold feet over going."

"Really?" Aaron lifted himself up slightly, worried.

Even in the darkness Jackson could sense the alarm etched on his other half's face "Don't worry; he was just a bit nervous is all. He asked me what he should do if he doesn't like his course; I told him he could change it. Then he asked what to do if he didn't like college itself; I told him that if he really hated it then he could leave."

There was a pause during which Aaron asked "And what'd he say to that?"

"He was a bit confused I think. He asked me what I'd think if he did decide to drop out, I said that obviously I hope it won't come to that but if he was truly miserable then we'd put his happiness first. He then asked if we would still be proud of him and I said that no matter what we'd always be proud of him, because while in this day and age college is a big thing there are still more important things in life.

At the end of it all Aaron, when I'm about to die I'm not going to be looking for my Uni degree. It'll be you and Kay I'll be thinking of; not a piece of paper in a frame. It's the same for everybody."

Aaron folded his arms across Jay's chest and rested his chin on his clasped hands, gazing up at Jackson tenderly "It's not like you needed it anyway, Mr co-managing director." He grinned.

"Yeah, but look at how long it took for me to get here! Maybe a college degree would've got me here faster." He joked "Imagine if I'd have gotten this job years ago; could've given you and Kalum a life of luxury."

Aaron noted the very small vocal touch of regret with a raised eyebrow "What do you mean?"

"I mean there's so many things you both could've had that I couldn't give you; Kalum could've gone to a top-notch school…"

"Where he never would've come across Ryan, Joe or Thomas; his best mates." Aaron replied smartly.

"Point taken. But I could've bought him so many things he'd like…"

"And knowing you he'd end up with so many things that he wouldn't have any regard for them rather than appreciating every little thing you've spoilt him with over the years." Aaron once again argued.

Jackson sighed "But still, look at all you could've had; holidays-"

"We've been on plenty of those."

"...a flash car-"

"Because I could do so much with a Lamborghini in Emmerdale village."

"… a big house in a lush area-"

"Which would feel empty as hell with Kay at his posh school and you having to work the whole time, and snobby neighbours would definitely not be my cup of tea."

Jackson held his hands up in surrender "Look I just would've liked to have had the ability to spoil the pair of you alri-"

He was suddenly cut off by Aaron's lips over his, kissing him softly and slowly. Once they parted a pleasantly surprised Jay looked down in wonder at his husband who wore an endearing but serious expression "We had you, and that was all that mattered." Aaron muttered "If you'd gotten that position years ago you would have been flat-out working the whole time and while we could've gotten all that swanky stuff like Declan has, we never would've seen you. I'd sooner come home to my family in a three-bedroomed detached in a small village than to a large, lonely mansion in a posh country estate, only having the chance to see my husband and son for maybe an hour before bedtime if I was lucky.

I know you mean well and I love you for it but me and Kay had and still have everything we need plus more. Like you said, there are more important things in life."

Jackson really didn't know what to say, other than "I love you, Aaron."

Aaron smiled "I love you too." He went in for a kiss. Once he pulled away he felt Jay's hand rest on the side of his face, caressing his cheek lovingly. "We've had a good life, haven't we?"

"Christ Jay, we're not going to the grave just yet!"

"You know what I mean! We've had some happy years, ain't we?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow "You ever hear of asking a silly question?"

As his husband's mouth opened once more he hurriedly placed a hand over it, muffling his protests. "Yes Jay, we have. And counting." He reassured him with an impish grin.

Raising a hand Jackson gently pulled his partner's hand away from his mouth and turning it over tenderly brushed his lips across the knuckles before giving it an affectionate squeeze "Thank you."

Aaron frowned "What for?"

"For sharing your life with me and making me happy."

Aaron shook his head in fond disbelief, about to make a smartass comment about how lack of sleep turned Jay into a right sappy sod but found upon seeing his partner's expression, eyes having now adjusted to the dark, that he couldn't. He couldn't find it in him to be cheeky when Jay was gazing at him in such a genuine, loving way.

So instead he leant his forehead affectionately against Jay's and playfully rubbed noses before giving his smiling mouth a quick kiss "If there's one thing you never have to thank me for, it's that. Before I met you, and this is all soppy crap aside, I barely even knew what being happy was like. So in a competition of who's made whose life happiest, I think we know who the winner is. And before you argue-" he raised a finger to stall any argument should there be any "I'd just like to remind you that it's nearly three in the morning, we've to be up at eight, and it's not an argument you're going to win."

Jackson smirked "Agree to disagree?"

"Deal." Aaron yawned "G'night, love you." "Love you too." Jackson offered him a final kiss goodnight before both settled back down to sleep, both still holding the source of their warmth, and their happiness, tightly.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxx

Looking in the rear view mirror Jackson could see Kay gazing rather melancholically out the car window. He hadn't said much since his early awakening this morning, being greeted by bacon sandwiches for breakfast and visits from both grandmothers to see him off on his first day of university. He'd gotten phone calls too from the likes of his uncle Josh and Rosaleigh, as well as, to his surprise, his maternal aunt Rebecca. He didn't see her too often but she did make occasional contact with him over the course of the years, especially on occasions like this.

The lads had also wished him luck. He felt squirms in his stomach as he was mentally reminded that none of the three would be there today; in fact he was going to be the first of them to enter into college life. Thomas wasn't due until the week after, and Joe began in the middle of the month. Ryan wouldn't be beginning at the RADA until the start of October.

On the drive up he reminded himself that things could be far worse; after all his place wasn't too far away that he couldn't commute everyday unlike Thomas and Ryan. And Joe, well, Joe was going to college in a country where he knew no one. Granted, his dad's family still lived over there and Shane was also going albeit to a different college but he would still be attending university alone. This did little to settle him however as they finally came to a stop outside a vast, almost intimidating building through which students with bags on their backs and books in their hands were passing in and out in fleets.

Kay gazed around silently as his parents checked that everything was in order regarding his registration, timetable and such. He had been so excited upon finally opening his results and getting his offer the very next day but now it all seemed too fast and too nerve-wrecking.

Jackson scanned his timetable "You've got your first construction class in an hour, followed by double maths. That's not too bad; you've plenty of time to explore and find your feet." Noticing Kay's lack of response he looked to see him not really paying attention, just staring at everything around him nervously.

Giving Aaron a knowing look Jackson lay a comforting hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, causing Kay to look up. "We know it's all big and new to you mate and it'll take a while to completely settle, but you can do it."

"How do you know I can?"

"Because I know my own son, and he's a fighter." Jackson smiled "The first day's always the toughest, so if you can survive this you can survive anything. Plus you've only got like five classes today and two tomorrow; you wouldn't bloody well get that at school!"

Kalum chuckled lightly. Jackson chanced a small ruffle of his hair "And hey, don't forget that we're proud of you. Well done, son."

"Thanks, da." Kalum grunted but he felt glad all the same. "If you want us to stay on for a bit we will." Jay offered to which his son replied cheekily "Nah, you best get going. Cramp my style and all that."

"You cheeky brat!" but Jackson was smirking as he held his hands up in surrender "Fine we'll head on, give us a buzz whenever your bus gets in." Resisting his instinctual urges he simply extended a hand "Best of luck today, mate." He was pleasantly surprised to feel Kay pull him into a quick hug instead, deciding to let the tough teenage front drop only briefly. "Da?"

"Yep?"

"Can we have steak tonight?"

Jackson rolled his eyes "I suppose!" Reluctantly pulling away he grinned "I'll just go start the car. Have a good time today, mate!"

"See you da." Kalum smiled as he went off to let Aaron have a moment with their son. Not sure of what he wanted to say Aaron simply asked "You nervous?"

"A bit." Kay admitted to which Aaron replied reassuringly "There's really no need to be; if a prat like me could get through college you'll be just fine. Trust me mate, anyone will tell you that the "college experience" isn't the work part of it!"

This caused Kay to smile, if only briefly before asking anxiously "But what if it's too big for me? What if I don't like it and I've just wasted everyone's time?"

"Like da told you, there are plenty of other options and we'd be proud of you regardless." He assured him "Letting us down is one thing you don't have to worry about Kay, because it's not something you'll ever be able to do. Once you're happy then we're happy, alright?"

Kay felt a slight weight drop from his shoulders as he nodded in relief "Ok." He paused before muttering "Wanna see something?"

Aaron watched on in confusion as Kay unzipped the front of his jacket and opened it a little. It took a minute to realise what he was supposed to be looking at but once he did he was stunned "You still have that thing?"

Kay looked a bit embarrassed as he zipped his jacket back up over the old, grey hoodie that now fitted him better than it had years ago when he'd first worn it "You know me, I find it hard to throw things away. Decided to go casual for today."

Aaron shook his head fondly, guessing that there were other reasons behind his wearing of such an old tatty garment today. Keeping his thoughts to himself he remarked "I should probably get going now. You sure you're ok? You don't want us to wait around with you?"

"Course." Kay replied brightly, sounding braver than he felt. Aaron took the offered hug, fighting his own emotions as he pulled away "Have a great day, mate."

"Will do."

Kalum was determined that in spite of his edgy feelings he would at least try to enjoy himself. He was going to be here for at least four years, so he might as well make the most of it regardless of how tough it might be.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

So far things were going fine, much to Kalum's relief. Most of his classes that day consisted mainly of introductions to the course and crap like that and finding the right rooms wasn't much of a struggle. What information he did learn so far he had found interesting enough though it was still too early to form a final verdict. Still, so far so good.

He had one more tutorial before a free period and then all he had to do was attend this stupid-sounding compulsory lecture, basically talking the new freshmen through "important" college stuff that they already knew. Kay didn't know what to do about lunch; there were any amount of places he could eat but the thought of eating alone for a full hour was daunting. As the trip up was quite long and not exactly cheap it wasn't like he could ask one of his mates or Rosaleigh to come up either.

He took his place at a desk in the deserted classroom and waited, eyes flicking to his phone now and again by means of feigned distraction. After a couple of minutes he was joined by a second student; a boy of about his age with black hair capped with a beanie like himself and faintly tanned skin. The boy's blue eyes observed the almost empty room before taking a seat towards the back. The slightly awkward silence was broken once more as another boy joined them, this time with tightly cut blond hair. He took a seat in front of Kay and waited for the rest of the class to turn up in silence.

After ten agonisingly long minutes Kalum noticed that nobody else seemed to be turning up, including the tutor. The other two boys seemed to notice this as well as Kay saw both flick through their timetables with frowns. He was surprised to see the blond boy suddenly turn around to face him "Are you here for culture and design?"

"Um, yeah." He mumbled. Deciding he better say more as the boy was still looking at him he added "We mustn't be a big class then, huh?"

"Either that or we're just lost." The lad grinned crookedly before stating "I'm Finlay by the way."

"Kalum." He smiled back. Finlay remarked in a friendly manner "Unusual name."

"I know." Kay sighed "Whereabouts you from?" "Kent. You?" "Yorkshire."

They kept up the introductory chat for a bit; the slight knot in Kay's stomach loosening as he found out Finlay didn't know anybody here either. Somewhere in the middle of their conversation he remembered the other lad and turned his head to see him still sat at his desk, eyes down at his phone and legs slightly swinging as though looking for something to keep him occupied.

Kay cleared his throat "Hey."

The boy slowly raised his head and stared back at Kalum as though unsure if he was addressing him. "Would you like to join us?"

The beanie-capped boy looked hesitant before nodding "Ok." Picking up his bag he proceeded to the seat beside Kay's and sat so that he was facing the pair, fingers drumming on his lap nervously like he was expecting an interrogation. Kay held out a hand "I'm Kalum. Or Kay; whichever you fancy."

"Seth." The boy replied almost shyly in a gravelly voice. "Where you from, Seth?"

"Virginia."

Finlay blinked "Like, Virginia in America?"

Seth grinned pleasantly "Yup, the cause of all that Blue Ridge Mountain and moonshine sing-song stuff. That Virginia."

Only now that he'd spoken a full sentence did Kalum hear the accent. "You're a bit of a long way from home, aren't you mate?"

Seth shrugged "A couple of thousand miles but that's fine. Just a change of scene, you know."

Finlay looked astonished "You actually willingly swapped hot and sunny Virginia for cold and rainy England? What is wrong with you?"

Seth smiled "What can I say; a guy can only have so much sun before he gets sick of it."

While Finlay shook his head disgustedly Kay noticed a piece of paper on the door which had previously escaped his attention. Reading it he paused and suddenly swore "How bloody stupid are we? Look!"

The other two did as ordered and their eyes widened "Tutorial postponed until next week?" Finlay exclaimed "How the heck did all three of us miss that?"

Seth simply chuckled at their ignorance. With a shrug Kalum said "Oh well, early lunch for me then." "Same." Finlay agreed. "Me too." Seth nodded.

There was a short pause before Finlay somewhat meekly suggested "Stop me if I'm being too forward, but I wouldn't mind just stopping here for lunch if you two fancy sticking around? Only if you want."

Kalum certainly didn't have anything better to do "Suits me." Seth also seemed happy enough with this arrangement, fishing some food out of his bag.

If Kay was worried that conversation would dry up over lunch he needn't have bothered; a simple offer of food from Seth to Finlay had sparked off the most humorous debate he'd witnessed in a while-

"Just eat the damn thing will you, Finlay?"

"Not until you tell me what it is!"

Seth cast his eyes upwards in exasperation "It's a cookie! Don't you have them over here?"

Finlay raised an amused eyebrow as his gaze shifted from the custard cream to the young, handsome American whose feet were now crossed on his desk while he tilted back on his chair "No it's not, it's a biscuit!"

Seth looked at him as though he were stupid "That thing is definitely not a biscuit."

"It bloody well is! Cookies are like biscuits with chocolate chips in them, ergo custard creams aren't cookies!"

Seth sighed "Man, if you ordered biscuits in a restaurant back home they would give you like these fluffy pieces of bread!"

Finlay looked to an amused Kay for support "Tell him!" Kay shook his head with a grin "I'm staying out of this."

"Wise choice Kay." Seth replied before arguing "Look Fin, explain the cookie monster from Sesame street to me. "The biscuit monster" just doesn't cut it."

"That's your line of defence? A puppet character who lives on the same street as an obese yellow bird and a bin-dwelling grumpy pile of weed?"

Seth raised his hands with a good-humoured smile "Ok, I give in. Anything else about my culture you disagree with while we're on the subject?"

Finlay chuckled in a friendly manner "Yeah; why do you lot drive on the wrong side of the road?"

"No, it's damn well _you_ lot who drive on the wrong side!" Seth protested. "He has a point." Kay had to agree "It's pretty much only Britain, Ireland and a handful of other places that drive on the left."

"Whose side are you on?" Finlay chided Kalum lightly.

"The right side, like the rest of the driving world." Seth got in a sly dig. As Finlay opened his mouth to argue further Kalum cut in "Lads I don't mean to interrupt the potential lead up to world war three, but we probably should eat something before the next class decides to come in here."

The other two reluctantly agreed to put aside their friendly banter as they ate. All was going well until Seth ever so innocently held out a bag of crisps under the nose of Finlay, the corners of his mouth twitching with mischief "Chip?"

Oh boy…

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Aaron and Jackson were sat at home that evening, Jackson watching a documentary and Aaron flipping through a car magazine though neither was actually paying much attention as their minds were clogged up with thoughts regarding how their son had fared on his first day.

"Kay'll be home soon." Jackson eventually muttered, addressing no one in particular.

Aaron placed aside his magazine and nodded "Aye." He pulled himself up from his lying position and stretched "Wonder how he got on."

"I'm sure he was fine." Jackson's smile slipped a bit "Though I have to say it killed me a little bit today having to watch him start off on his own. I know he's practically an adult now but…"

He stopped. Aaron placed a comforting arm around his shoulders and muttered soothingly "I know. All I could see today was our sandy-haired four year old setting off by himself. But that's just normal; it's a big change but it's not one Kay isn't capable of."

"Course not." Jackson grinned brightly.

Just then Aaron remembered something that had slipped his mind earlier. Sticking a hand into his jeans pocket he yanked out a folded, crumpled piece of paper. Straightening it out he handed it to a curious Jackson.

Jay's eyes widened in surprise as he read the heading. "Adult learning courses?"

"Saw some leaflets on my way out of Kay's college today. This place is fairly local and they've got all sorts of courses, including a few you might like and it's all evening and night classes." Aaron explained rather bashfully "I just thought, you know, Kay doesn't need full-on care anymore and I've no problem if you fancy taking up a course. It's pricey but if it's what you want, we'll make sure you get it."

Jackson stared at him "And you really wouldn't mind? You'd be willing to lose money and time for me?"

Aaron nodded "Well yeah, if it's what you really want. It's just that you mentioned you wouldn't mind studying for a college degree if you had no other responsibilities and well, now in the evenings you don't. So it's there if you want it."

Jackson paused and gazed down at the crumpled paper pensively before taking a breath "Thanks babe. And I mean that, thanks a lot; that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever offered to do for me. But to be honest I think I'll pass."

Aaron gaped at him in shock "How come? You're not worried about money or anything are you because I promi-"

"No babe, nothing to do with money at all." Jay assured him, setting aside the leaflet and taking hold of his hands "Look, it's a great opportunity and in another time or place I probably would've jumped at it. But you're wrong when you say that I haven't any responsibilities in my evenings, because I do."

Aaron's unvoiced question was answered by the look in Jackson's eyes "Jay, if this is something you really want then don't let me hold you back." Aaron began "Yeah, I'll miss you in the evenings but we can always make up for that…"

"With what? Seeing each other at the weekends?" Jackson scoffed before tilting Aaron's chin up so that he was looking him directly in the eyes "You and me both work full-time from morning till evening, babe. Kay is going to be at college for most of that time too. Do you really think I'd rather spend what precious free time I have learning in a classroom than with my boys?

It's a lovely gesture, Aaron, and very thoughtful, but I'm afraid I have other appointments; namely attempting to beat his lordship at pool and arguing with a certain grumpy sod over whose turn it is to do the dishes."

Aaron smiled, raising a hand and settling it on the back of Jay's neck, stroking the knotted scar adorning it "If that's what you want."

"It is." Jackson assured him before leaning in for a kiss. It started off nice and sweet before steadily growing in passion, Jackson firmly pushing Aaron down onto the sofa and Aaron linking his arms around his husband's neck, both so caught up in the present situation that they were oblivious to all else.

"I think I've had enough mental scarring to last me a lifetime already, don't you think?"

Both sprang apart, startled at the unexpected sound of their bemused teenager's voice. Jackson groaned as he turned to face their son "We really need to get a bell for you, you know that?"

"Sorry but the thought of what might have happened on the couch that I sit on every day had I not interrupted doesn't exactly fill me with joy."

Aaron cocked an eyebrow "Oh? And yet sleeping in the guest bed at your gran's hasn't bothered you for years!"

Kay appeared confused "How'd you mean?"

Aaron bit back a chuckle "Well that was my old bed, Kay. We lived there for a bit before we got our own house. You're a smart lad, figure it out for yourself."

Kalum's face whitened as he caught on to his meaning "DAD!"

"What?" Aaron snorted, amused "You kipped in our bed plenty whenever you had nightmares as a kid! Besides it's not like we didn't wash up after ourselves."

"Yeah but… urgh!" Kalum's face was turning scarlet at this conversation. Luckily Jackson stepped in "I think we've embarrassed him enough for today. C'mon mate, tell us about your day."

Kay opted to sit down on the floor with his head rested against the side of the couch while he detailed the happenings of his first day in third level education. Aaron and Jackson were particularly pleased to hear that he had made friends already, knowing it must have taken a great weight off their boy's shoulders

"Seth's in structural development with me as well, so we're going to do our mid-term group project together. Finlay's doing advanced French as his elective too so at least I'll literally have someone to talk to during that class without it being awkward. All three of us have pretty much the same lectures together anyway so at least none of us will look like a billy-no-mates…"

He also mentioned that he'd joined a couple of college clubs; unsurprisingly wheelchair basketball was one. "Sometimes talent scouts come out to watch the games. If you're good enough they'll ask you if you want to join the local team." His attempt at sounding casual was flawed by the touch of badly-hid eagerness in his voice.

Both his dads listened intently as he rattled on but noticed that his voice was getting heavier and sentences shorter until eventually words stopped coming altogether. Raising his head from a propped fist Aaron grinned as he saw that the mousy-haired head had dropped limply, as had the eyelids of their worn-out lad who was now out for the count with arms crossed over his chest, breathing in and out steadily.

Jackson also found the scene charming "Tough student life taking its toll already?" he joked.

Aaron nodded "Seems like it. Should I wake him so he can go to bed?"

Jay paused thoughtfully before shaking his head "Nah. Give him here."

To Aaron's surprise Jackson stooped down and gently scooped their sleeping lad into his arms. As he straightened up Aaron instinctively warned "Don't drop him!"

Jackson rolled his eyes exasperatingly "Wasn't planning on it!"

Still, Aaron followed him warily as he carried their son into his room. It wasn't that he thought Jay clumsy or anything, but because of his accident years ago despite his recovery his back would never be as strong as it used to be. Considering the amount of beatings his body had taken in the years since, especially recently, and the fact that Kay was growing bigger and stronger everyday Aaron couldn't help but feel anxious about him hurting himself or Kay.

However all went well as Jackson prompted Aaron to move back the covers before gently lowering the slumbering boy down. Aaron prised off his shoes while Jackson gently eased his jacket off, Kay mumbling sleepy nonsense as he did so. Once this was done Jackson made sure his head was lying properly on the pillow before pulling the covers over the sleeping boy, who looked innocent as anything as he lay dreaming.

Both couldn't resist simply watching him for a moment, he just seemed so undeniably sweet in his sleep though they wouldn't dare mention this to him. This was one of the reasons why Jackson wasn't keen on spending his evenings studying for a degree. Kay was growing up fast, and due to his busy teenage life Jackson already didn't get to see as much of him as he'd like. If all he had now was a few precious hours before bedtime then he figured it was better than nothing.

All the same, part of him felt a warm sort of sadness at the thought of Kay becoming an adult. He was sure Aaron felt the same. Knowing he probably wouldn't get the chance to do it again anytime soon if ever Jay couldn't resist bending to brush his lips lightly against Kalum's forehead before quickly straightening back up, Kay snoozing on obliviously.

Aaron smiled warmly as he reached out to grasp his husbands hand in his own, tugging on it gently as they went to leave the room "C'mon, let's get to bed. I'll warm you up."

Jackson smiled as he shut the door silently behind them and allowed Aaron to lead him towards the stairs "Can't resist my cuddles, can you?"

Aaron threw him an almost casual look as they ascended the stairs "Who said anything about cuddling?"

….TBC

**Figured I couldn't let a milestone like that slip by. Seth's character is based on my own college friend from Virginia and the biscuit/cookie debate is one me and her still have nearly on a daily basis:) Best thing about college is the people you meet, it really is.**

**Next chapter may be the final one sadly, but I look forward to writing it all the same. Till next time! x**


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